September 15, 2003
By Bontle Moeng
LEARNERS around Gauteng are being encouraged to create a beautiful environment by waging war on litter in their schools and the surrounding areas.
And to support the campaign, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs (DACEL) is holding its annual competition to find the cleanest school in the province. This forms part of the 2003 Bontle ke Botho Cleanest Municipality, Cleanest Ward and Cleanest School competition currently underway.
Waste management is one of the biggest problems in urban areas, and the competition is aimed at not only cleaning up the environment but also in creating an awareness of the need to manage this waste, according to a media statement from the DACEL.
"We want to involve all schools in taking care of their surrounds and then to keep them that way."
Bontle ke Botho is a provincial initiative responsible for various environmental campaigns that "aim to promote participation in, and contribution towards, living and learning in a way that enhances our human dignity", said the statement.
The Bontle ke Botho Cleanest Municipality, Cleanest Ward and Cleanest School competition is co-ordinated by the DACEL in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Education, the Gauteng Department of Development Planning and Local Government and the Gauteng Department of Health.
The closing date for the Cleanest Ward and Cleanest School competitions is 17 October. Schools must submit their entry forms, via their school principal or school governing body, to the Gauteng Department of Education's district offices.
Forms for the Cleanest Ward competition must be handed to the official co-ordinating entries at the local municipality.
Criteria for choosing the winners for the cleanest school and cleanest ward include the learning activities involved, the level of awareness created, environmental management, and the proposed use of the prize money.
The Cleanest Municipality competition is open to the province's three metropolitan councils and nine local municipalities. Entries for this section of the competition close on 31 October and forms must be submitted to the office of the MEC for Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs.
Ward 64, which covers Hillbrow, Berea and Joubert Park, kicked off their campaign to hold on to their title as cleanest ward - won in last year's competition - by holding a tree-planting programme recently. The ward organised a campaign to plant trees at local schools, Johannesburg Girls School, Barnato High School and Berea Primary School, and clean up the areas.
Last year Ward 64 received a total of R100 000 for winning in both the local and provincial phases of the Cleanest Ward competition. Ward 64 worked on improving the local parks around Berea.
"The objective of the Inner City Regeneration Tree Planting Programme is to enhance the regeneration of the inner city and to compliment the efforts of the Inner City Regeneration Task Force. We want to involve members of the community and other stakeholders in council-initiated programmes and make sure they are sustainable," said ward councillor William Ntsanwisi.
This year Ward 64 intends to run an anti-dumping campaign, Ntsanwisi added. "The Inner City Regeneration Tree Planting Programme" is an element of this campaign, the councillor said.
A triangular "island" on the side of Harrow Road, currently being used as a dumping site, has been identified as a place to create a "passive recreation facility". "We will put benches there and people can then play games such as morabaraba. This will stop illegal dumping," said Ntsanwisi.
Ward 64 used the prize money from last year to develop a community art centre on the corner of Harrow and Hendon roads. "The premises are half completed and we need to finish the job."
The centre will cater for young artists, who will be able to develop their skills in painting or performing arts. The Creative Inner City Initiative will run the project on behalf of the ward, the councillor said.
The Bontle ke Botho Cleanest Municipality, Cleanest Ward and Cleanest School categories are:
Schools - district level
- Best performance-Water and Sanitation: R15 000
- Best performance-Waste: R15 000
- Best performance-Energy: R15 000
Schools - provincial level
- Best performance-Water and Sanitation: R50 000
- Best performance-Waste: R50 000
- Best performance-Energy: R50 000
Wards - local authority level
- 1st prize: R50 000
- 2nd prize: R25 000
- 3rd prize: R15 000
Wards - provincial level
- 1st prize: R100 000
- 2nd prize: R50 000
- 3rd prize: R25 000
Awards for the best metropolitan or municipal structures
- Best Metropolitan (Overall winner):
R200 000
- Best Local Municipality (Overall winner):
R200 000
- Best Local Municipality (Runner-up):
R100 000
Winners will be announced on 3 December.
