Efforts to keep towns which fall under the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Municipality clean, beautified and green have been reinforced, following the unveiling of an army of 470 recruits, who will be working across the municipality in solid waste management, over a four-month period.
The initiative is funded by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) and forms part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES).
Groen Mintirho, through its subsidiary, Murapa, is the implementing agency of the groundbreaking initiative, meant to mitigate the effects of pollution on planet Earth, as appointed by MISA.
Speaking during the unveiling of the recruits on February 15, KSD Municipality Executive Mayor, Nyaniso Nelani, described the initiative as “adding a new dimension on waste management by making citizens appreciate waste”.
“This initiative goes beyond our own municipal campaigns of keeping our towns clean in that it makes us appreciate waste as a commodity that can create jobs and lead to formation of small businesses in solid waste management,” Nelani said.
The municipality previously embarked on several cleaning campaigns and encouraged businesses to adopt streets where their businesses are located and champion cleaning of those adopted streets, as it battles persistent littering in its towns.
MISA chief executive, Ntandazo Vimba, said that through the waste management initiative they wanted to turn the solid waste into a resource that can contribute to the local economy.
“The aim of the programme is to impart skills and empower the participants so that they are able to sustain themselves by forming cooperatives and businesses in solid waste management at the end of their employment,” Vimba said.
Vimba said MISA had invested R17 million in the KSD Municipality alone, which is the biggest allocation from the total allocation for the waste management initiative in the Eastern Cape.
MISA said negotiations were continuing, with all stakeholders involved in the programme, for it to be extended beyond the four-month period.
