June 5, 2003
By Bongani Majola
A HIGH-POWERED team led by Executive Mayor Amos Masondo took a tour of Meadowlands, Soweto on Wednesday to celebrate the progress of Project 100 Spots. In the entourage were the City's executive managers, Mayoral Committee members, city agents' representatives and members of the media.
Masondo handed over Project 100 spots to the residents of Soweto at the culmination of the tour. Started in October 2002, the project discourages illegal dumping and seeks to rid Soweto of grime and engender a culture of compliance with municipal by-laws.
A joint project by the City's waste management utility Pikitup, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, City Power, City Parks, Joburg Water and the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Project 100 spots is aimed at addressing the problem of illegal dumping, vandalism, cable theft, general littering, putting up illegal structures, illegal trading, tampering with meters and other by-law infringements in Soweto "with an intention to provide a lasting and sustainable development".
"Illegal dumping alone," the mayor said, "is a problem that affects all 11 regions of the City, but also one that is particularly serious in Soweto. Apart from being an eyesore, illegal dumping sites contain dangerous items like broken glass, bits of sharp metal and used syringes and needles, all items that pose a danger to children playing in the open areas where waste is dumped illegally."
Council loses over R300 million a year due to numerous by-law transgressions, said Masondo. And it costs the City of Johannesburg R150 million a year to clear illegal dumping and "for Soweto alone it costs R20 million". "The aim of the project therefore is to clean up the 100 most prominent illegal sites in the areas of Meadowlands, Killarney, Phomolong, Mzimhlophe and Noordgesig."
Masondo then urged the community of Soweto to take over the ownership of their open spaces "for a cleaner and more attractive environment, safer open areas for children to play and smooth traffic flows throughout the township".
In close attendance was City Manager Pascal Moloi, newly appointed director of communications Gabu Tugwana, chief operating officer Sibongile Mazibuko and Brian Hlongwa, Mayoral Committee member responsible for municipal services and entities.
At an erected white tent, amidst strong winds, the entourage was welcomed by local ward councillors, led by the director for Region 10 Peta Qubeka, who also dabbled as programme director for the day.
In between presentation of certificates of civic pride to ward councillors, a guest speech by Masondo and introduction of various councillors and representatives of the City's utilities, agents and corporatised entities (UACs), choirs from neighbouring primary schools, including Masekhene, Tumang and Tumelo Primary Schools, kept the attendants enthralled.
In his closing remarks, the mayor related a tale of a man who had set up his bedroom, complete with sheets and linen, in Marshall Street in central Johannesburg. When asked the reason for the flagrant by-law violation, the man retorted, according to Masondo, "it's democracy".
The entourage then went on an inspection of all some of the now clean spots and, along the way, Metro Police issued impromptu fines to by-law violators, who included connectors of illegal electricity and water, as well as illegal constructions.
