Overstrand Executive Mayor Willie Smuts, councillor Eddie Wiid, Deputy Mayor Theo Oliver, Thys Serfontein, Minister Tasneem Essop and Head of Department, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Theo Tolmay Receiving the award worth R100,000 from Minister Tasneem Essop at a gala evening in Stellenbosch last night, Alderman Willie Smuts, Mayor of Overstrand could barely hide his elation.
"Anything less would have shown we are not serious towards meeting the demands of our community", he delightedly declared.
"I receive this award not only on behalf of the Council, but for every official, non-governmental organisation and the community that have diligently worked together to make this goal possible", he added. "It was indeed a team effort of which everyone was a member, also from the poorest of the poor".
Since inception in 2001 the provincial round of the Cleanest Town Competition has enjoyed greatly improved participation, clearly showing its significance to municipalities in the province. From a participation rate of only 50% in the first year and 19 out of 24 municipalities in 2003/4, this year's competition hosted 23 out of 24 municipalities.
Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Tasneem Essop repeatedly emphasised that the focus of the competition is the effective utilisation by municipalities of available resources, and a glance at the Evaluation Panels' report reveals that most aspects of physical cleanliness in Overstrand were impeccable. For example, a two-bag system for separating household waste from the recyclable portion was working well.
It was noticed that community buy-in to environmental projects is established through regular updates via the local community newspaper and environmental organisations in the area. Also, an aggressive awareness raising campaign and publicity strategy to entice pro-active involvement by the community were demonstrated to the panel.
Recycling through Walker Bay Recycling situated next to the Hermanus transfer station provides employment to many people and is currently expanding, since more and more residential areas have become involved in the two-bag system.
Notwithstanding a bustling Hermanus CBD when the panel visited, huge traffic flows and population density in this the area were extremely well managed and maintained. It was also established that municipal services include refuse removal from restaurants on a daily basis, as well as street sweeping services and the provision of waste receptacles to all areas.
The light industrial area was neat with no illegal dumping visible, while skips and bins have been strategically placed to facilitate waste removal. Said Minister Tasneem Essop: "Integrated Waste Management Plans are a crucial tool to ensure practical integrated waste management".
The towns in runner-up municipality Swartland are very well maintained. Regular waste collection services as well as street sweeping, cutting of grass on road verges and the provision of waste collection receptacles are visible. Public buildings, historical monuments, tourist attractions and open green spaces are all well maintained and in exceptional condition. The municipality also embarked on an integrated approach to the management of waste introducing Integrated Waste Management (IWM) planning.
The Malmesbury landfill is partially privatised and has a recycling operation on site. This landfill is well managed and excellent provision is made for waste disposal over the medium term. A materials recovery facility (MRF) with a conveyor belt is used for sorting recoverable materials from the waste. This operation provides employment for about 15 people. Recyclables from the entire Swartland area are sorted through a highly organised operation.
Second runner-up Knysna is experiencing tremendous expansion owing to various reasons. The CBD-area however is well maintained and the growth significantly evidenced by the huge amounts of builder's rubble. Knysna Municipality as well as Mossel Bay Municipality uses the PETROSA landfill for their waste disposal.
This facility is excellently managed and receives only general waste from the municipalities. Access control, weighbridge facilities and payment systems are all streamlined into an electronic system that issues certificates of disposal. This is a good example to other municipalities how a landfill facility should be managed.
Honours for Most Improved Municipality went to Saldanha whose area was exceptionally clean. It was evident that a new waste management strategy has being implemented. All areas except one small informal settlement received regular weekly waste collection services. Streets are regularly swept and adequate waste receptacles are provided. Skips are used in some areas, but these are gradually being phased out and replaced with a proper collection service.
It was also noticed that fewer incidents of illegal dumping are taking place. Communication with residents in some of these areas indicates satisfaction with the efficiency of services provided. Business areas are also well maintained.
Excellent buy-in from the councilors and managers has resulted in environmental issues receiving priority on the municipal agenda and this has resulted in significant improvements for the local inhabitants.
Together with other departments the municipality conducts environmental education programmes in schools and communities. Recycling is being done in this area and these products are hauled to the markets in Cape Town.
Previous winners of the Competition were Knysna Municipality (2002) and Overstrand Municipality (2003). Runners up included Cape Agulhas and Oudtshoorn Municipalities in 2002 and Knysna and Oudtshoorn Municipalities in 2003.
Last year the two Western Cape Municipalities which were forwarded to the National Competition, namely Overstrand Municipality and City of Cape Town, came home with all the honours by winning the National round of the Competition in their respective categories, namely "local authority" and "metropolitan municipality".
Enquiries:Russel Mehl
Pollution and Waste
Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
Tel: 021 483 2752
Cell: 084 668 1073
Rmehl@pgwc.gov.za
