By Buhle Makabane
JOZI is tops in Gauteng - the city beat 14 other municipalities in the province to walk away with the R200 000 first prize in a Bontle ke Botho competition.
This makes it best metropolitan municipality in Gauteng in protecting the environment and improving the quality of life through community environmental projects. The prize-giving was held at the HM Pitje Stadium in Mamelodi, Tshwane earlier this month.
Joburg was named the Bontle ke Botho Best Performing Municipality, claiming first prize for the second time in the four years that the campaign has been running.
The Braamfontein Spruit at Craighall Park
Competing municipalities were Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Mogale City, Sedibeng, Metsweding, Randfontein, Westonaria, Kungwini, Nokeng Tsa Taemane, West Rand, Merafong City, Emfuleni, Midvaal, Lesedi and Johannesburg.
"This win gives us the hope that someone out there appreciates our work and it is also a recognition that the city is doing something towards Joburg's cleaning and greening of the environment," said Nomakhosazana Baiker, the project manager in the City's environmental affairs department.
Bontle ke Botho, meaning "being beautiful is human", was established after the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in the city in 2002. It is co-ordinated by the provincial department of agriculture, conservation, environment and land affairs in collaboration with the education and development planning and local government departments.
The city's projects for this year included school gardens, car wash programmes and waste recycling, park beautifying, tree planting and agricultural development.
In addition, a number of the City's utilities and agencies and independent, environmentally driven companies actively generated, promoted and assisted a range of diverse environmental projects, such as can recycling, paper pick-ups, water conservation and land refills.
According to a City statement, the prize money would be used for creating and sustaining a wide variety of environmental projects at a local and council level.
The theme for the 2005 Bontle ke Botho campaign was Sustainable Living and Poverty Alleviation. Categories for the competition were sustainable agriculture, energy, waste and water. Joburg will go on to represent Gauteng at the National Cleanest Town finals.
Baiker said the finals would not be an easy win for Joburg as other metros were stiff competition.
It also faced a number of challenges, such as getting the community more involved in its projects. It also had the fastest growing population in the country, said Baiker.
However, the aim was to make Johannesburg a cleaner, healthy, safer and more beautiful city.
"The community has to realise that it is very important for them to participate. They need to know why they have to save water, plant trees and keep the environment clean," Baiker said.
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