October 16, 2007
By Tabisa Mntengwana
THE first phase of the Sisonke Project was launched on Friday, 12 October, in downtown Joburg, with 20 underground bins ready for operation.
The Sisonke Project is a City of Joburg initiative, incorporating its waste utility, Pikitup, and the Department of Science and Technology. Sisonke has three major projects - the underground bin system, the street prefect system and the cleaning up of informal settlements, including Slovo Park.
Speaking at the launch, Executive Mayor Amos Masondo said: "This is part of our comprehensive efforts to clean up the Johannesburg inner city and other CBDs and thus create a better environment for residents, visitors and the business community, ranging from informal to big businesses."
The underground bins are part of Pikitup's Sisonke initiative aimed at keeping the inner city free from illegal dumping
Dignitaries gathered at the corner of Klein and Noord streets in Joburg on Friday included the member of the mayoral committee for transport, Rehana Moosajee; the member of the mayoral committee for environment, Prema Naidoo; the member of the mayoral committee for infrastructure and services, Ros Greeff; the City manager, Mavela Dlamini; the acting managing director of Pikitup, Zami Nkosi; and the deputy minister of science and technology, Derek Hanekom.
The steel containers, five cubic metres in size, will also be installed in some parts of Soweto and Alexandra. "The sites are chosen on the basis of the volume of traffic and population densities," reads a press release.
They are encased in a metal frame and sunk inside a concrete sleeve in the ground.
The second phase of Sisonke is the clean up of informal settlements, which is already under way. It began in Slovo Park. Some 10 educators are helping the project "which incorporates the cleaning of toilets, refuse collection and the monitoring of illegal dumping", according to a press release.
"The approach requires a greater sense of community participation in our initiatives against dumping and littering and a greater sense of ownership of the immediate environment," Masondo said.
His words were echoed by Hanekom: "Effective waste management strategies contribute to the creation of a cleaner, less wasteful and more sustainable society."
The third part of Sisonke is the street prefect system. Already 17 street prefects are employed by the City to monitor crime in the inner city. They also report incidents such as power failures, malfunctioning traffic lights, water leaks, overflowing waste bins and illegal dumping.
Masondo said that the street prefects were visible extensions of a broader society, where everybody took equal responsibility for their environment, for their neighbourhoods and eventually for the whole of Johannesburg.
The system works closely with other community-based organisations and service providers "with the aim of improving on service delivery, with the main focus areas being Yeoville and Joubert Park", adds the press release.
The Sisonke Project is a R5, 5-million initiative co-sponsored by Pikitup and the Department of Science and Technology.
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