King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality in partnership with Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) held a ‘Presidential Employment Stimulus’ launch (PES) at the Mthatha Freedom Square on 15 February 2022. This partnership is formed solely as a solution to the environmental challenges caused by poor waste management.
The intention of the engagement is to deal with citizenry attitudes towards waste management. KSDM citizens have been disposing garbage withing our cities, peri-urban areas, and rural nodes. The municipality has had cleaning campaigns before to try and sensitize our communities about proper management of waste.
Garbage disposal has increasingly become a problem not only in KSDM, but within the different localities within the District, Province and Nationally within the Republic of South Africa. The municipality has partnered with MISA to learn about their new approaches to waste management. The engagement was mostly to motivate our citizens, to also change the mindsets and general attitudes towards waste management.
The communities were engaged on environmental waste management opportunities such as waste for economy. The waste management should not only be seen as the responsibility of the municipality, but it also becomes a societal responsibility. To achieve, environmental sustainability, there must be unity amongst our communities. Everyone generate different forms of waste at our homes, work, or schools and now it is time to get ahead and pledge to play our part in making KSD clean and green.
As a result of the partnership with MISA, 470 young people have been chosen as beneficiaries to be trained and carry out this directive of being the agents of change. In her opening remarks, Speaker of Council Cllr Nomamfengu Siyo-Sokutu encouraged cleaning of the towns by saying that this involves us all and we all should be ready to do our part not just for ourselves, but for future generations that will benefit from this ideal clean air, clean spaces towns we look forward to.
Encouraging the beneficiaries, she commented on how beautiful and clean they looked during the event and said, “We are hopeful that the beauty we see here today, will be seen in the streets of Mthatha. Together we can do more, to you Maqobokazana, we are hoping for unity of purpose”. Chief Executive Officer of MISA, Mr Ntandazo Vimba explained why this program came into existence by saying it is a way of creating jobs, assist the municipality deal with cleanliness and to also promote small business ventures. He said this is a means to economic recovery and reconstruction after the devasting effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Mr Vimba further explained that this could also be considered a business venture, wherein one will collect waste from areas and compress it to be sold to companies for recycling purposes. MISA promotes ‘Innovation Waste Management Solution’ as one of the tools to waste management and economic development.
KSDM Executive Mayor Cllr Nyaniso Nelani saluted this partnership as this is a step closer to achieving the Kigali Model as a vehicle of cleanliness. He thanked MISA for considering KSDLM to partner with saying they have been consistent with their projects in KSD ‘kodwa wenze kakhulu ngoku’.
“As KSDLM we welcome the support and commit to working with you and sustain this program” Executive Mayor said. He added that this is exactly what KSD needs to achieve green and clean towns because this will allow the cleaning, beautifying, and greening of our open spaces. He also pleaded with the KSD community to get on board, because together we can achieve more.