27 Feb 2023

 

More public education programmes within communities are necessary to propel the country to attain successful proper waste management plan and encourage people to protect the environment.

In an interview on the sidelines of the cleaning campaign organised by Extension Gunners Kanye branch supporters during which they picked litter from Mahube to BG Mall over the weekend, Kgwakgwe Ward's Councillor Ronald Motlhanke commended the club for their noble initiative and advised them to further inculcate more education on the advantages of waste management.

He said such was necessary because it was a spirited way of creating a binding agreement that would reduce the level of widespread waste in the environment.

To achieve that, he said it was critical for all stakeholders to forge partnerships and ensure that the public attained innovative and best practices on waste management education with a view to decreasing the amount of waste disposal.

“We have experienced a major challenge of an influx of waste, which supposedly could have been managed by the street vendors. I think we need to engage with them and others who are concerned with waste disposal,” he said.

Although he commended government for its commitment to mindset change, Motlhanke opined that it could only be through aspects such as continual improvement of knowledge, instilling values and fostering beliefs and shifting attitudes that the community could attain a cleaner environment.

“Education has the power to help individuals reconsider environmentally harmful lifestyles and behaviour, therefore education should form part of the solution rather than leaving all the waste management plans to the government,” he added.

Motlhanke noted that strategies such as reducing, reusing and recycling of waste, if practiced, had potential to save space at landfills, thereby leading to conservation of natural resources.

He added that in an effort to help the community become global players through refuse collection initiative, Southern District Council was currently undertaking a project where waste such as papers, plastics and steel was bought from the community.

“This has contributed significantly as a solution to addressing the challenges of indiscriminate waste disposal. It has in turn stimulated a grand effort in promoting people’s behavioural change towards better waste and resource management,” he said.

He indicated that the council alone would not manage to manage waste without the involvement of the community, adding that every year more funds were channelled towards waste management instead of being directed to other pertinent developments.

Motlhanke further commended Extension Gunners Kanye branch supporters for their initiative in ensuring a cleaner environment for the Kanye community.

“In recognition for the efforts to cleaning the environment, we want to express our sincere appreciation for the contribution that they have made and assure our timely partnership in any initiatives of this kind that they so wish to partake in future,” he said.

For his part, Extension Gunners Kanye branch supporters’ club chairperson, Roy Moakofhi said the club was concerned about challenges brought about by waste, especially on the main roads where it was visible to visitors.

Moakofhi said it was due to such a concern that they embarked on the initiative with the aim of assisting government make a difference in the people’s lives.

Moakofhi added that the event had also accorded them an opportunity to engage and interact with the community for the purpose of environment sustainability and further branding and marketing of the team.

He however noted that they were not pleased with the level of cooperation and participation from the stakeholders, saying some were reluctant on their part in embracing the initiative. As such, he challenged the business community to partake in waste management initiatives.

“Most of the waste that is seen on the streets are as a result of the transaction of commodities bought from businesses, therefore businesses should play a leading role in addressing challenges of waste,” he said.

He further highlighted the need to keep Kanye clean owing to its location along the Trans-Kalahari road, which is a strategic economic corridor key in developing and enhancing deeper regional integration, adding ‘this accords Kanye an opportunity to become a station for tourists en-route to Namibia’. Ends