speech of executive mayor of mkhondo local municipality, clr

SPEECH OF EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF MKHONDO LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY, CLR BHEKABANTU MTSHALI DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN ON CLEAN AND MAINTAIN MY
TOWN ON 15 AUGUST 2014
Program Director
Honourable Members of the Mayoral Committee
Honourable Speaker, ClrPhilisiwe
Honourable Chief, Clr Zakhele Mthimkhulu
Honourable Councillors
MsK.Celefrom the Department of Environmental Affairs,
MrJaques du Plessisrepresenting TWK here today
Ms M. Skhakhane from Mondi
Mr S. Makhabane from DARDLEA
Ms S. Ngcobo
Mr H. Ferreira
MsNonhlanhla present here today
Mr S. Mhlanga from GSDM
Representative from Signe Art
All Managers led by Municipal Manager, Mr Absy
Mahlangu
Distinguished participants
Ladies and gentlemen
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SPEECH OF EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF MKHONDO LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY, CLR BHEKABANTU MTSHALI DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN ON CLEAN AND MAINTAIN MY
TOWN ON 15 AUGUST 2014
I greet you all this special morning of the 15th day of
August 2014.
Programme Director, I am deeply honoured to address
you in this crucial and important event at the time when
South Africa is celebrating the Woman’s Month. It reminds
me of the good work and sacrifices women did in the
1950s. They fought so hard to make South Africa our
country a better place to live in. This tells us that women
are raised with a sense of social responsibility. In the past
women were regarded as people that are supposed to
clean houses and yards, doing washing and remain in the
kitchen. This has changed now. We acknowledge that
women of today do take charge of everything. The
constitution that the ANC introduced in collaboration with
other stakeholders gives same human rights to every
citizen of the country regardless of colour, sex and so
forth.
Ladies and Gettlemen, you would recall that President
Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address announced
that this year Mandela Day would be celebrated by South
Africans by dedicating at least 67 minutes of their time to
undertake community services across the country.
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SPEECH OF EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF MKHONDO LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY, CLR BHEKABANTU MTSHALI DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN ON CLEAN AND MAINTAIN MY
TOWN ON 15 AUGUST 2014
President Zuma said: “Let us begin planning for a major
clean-up of our cities, town, township, villages, schools
and beautify every part of our country”.
We participated in various activities by cleaning premises,
repainting Hospital buildings, rehabilitating community
sports facilities and reconstructed a pedestrian bridge
linking town andGroup 10 communities. We have definitely
heeded to the call of our President Jacob Zuma on the
18th of July this year in memory of the world’s iconic hero
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. However, our effort did not
end there.
Programme Director, not so long ago, different
stakeholders gathered here on the 11th of April 2014 to
launch the first ever Annual Waste Management Summit.
Today the launch of this campaign on “Clean and Maintain
my Town” shows that the deliberations we had during the
launch of the Annual Waste Management Summit start to
yield better and positive results.Working together with you
and other stakeholders, we intend torolling out this
programme to other areas such as Amsterdam, townships
and villages.The main purpose of this campaign is to
sensitise our communities on sustainable benefits of
cleaning and taking care of the environment.
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SPEECH OF EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF MKHONDO LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY, CLR BHEKABANTU MTSHALI DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN ON CLEAN AND MAINTAIN MY
TOWN ON 15 AUGUST 2014
Programme Director, we are calling on everyone to live
responsibly and protect our environment. In order to
conduct our clean-up campaigns successfully, we always
invite and encourage the participation of business
community, civil society and the media. Everyone has a
role to play, from our homes to the streets, to our towns,
schools, churches, and even the parks. Let us keep our
surroundings clean and manage waste correctly.
This is particularly important because Mkhondo is gateway
to the Province of Mpumalanga from KwaZulu Natal and
Swaziland. Hundreds of domestic and international visitors
pass through this town. This therefore articulates that the
face of our towns should inspire many of these people in
order to trigger their interest in investing in our area. We
need to create a lasting impression of clean towns,
townships and other communal areas.
Ladies and Gettlemen, allow me to refresh your memory
on the significance of cleaning our areas and caring for the
environment. Cleaning-up the environment does not only
creates a more pleasant place to live, but also creates a
good impression on prospective employers, investors,
professionals, and tourists who may visit our
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SPEECH OF EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF MKHONDO LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY, CLR BHEKABANTU MTSHALI DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN ON CLEAN AND MAINTAIN MY
TOWN ON 15 AUGUST 2014
areas.Research also indicates that there are many
positive links between a clean environment and how we
feel about ourselves.
It is very important to remember that about 50% of a
typical household bin's contents can be recycled. We can
create more job opportunities by turning waste into wealth
through recycling instead of just dumping it in our landfill
sites. Recycling offers alternative job creation
opportunities with huge potential to substantially reduce
unemployment and eradicate poverty. This therefore
appeals to our local businesses to explore such an
opportunity and probably venture with our young men and
women who are unemployed and still engulfed in poverty.
Programme Director, as we travel this road together with
all other stakeholders, I personally view education and
awareness as an important priority and vehicle to facilitate
long-term changes in attitudes about waste management.
By doing that, it will ultimately respond to our goal of
sustainable livelihoods and reduction of poverty in our
communities. I would like to urge all of us here today,
especially the business community and media to regard
today’s launch of “Clean and Maintain my Town”campaign
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SPEECH OF EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF MKHONDO LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY, CLR BHEKABANTU MTSHALI DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE CAMPAIGN ON CLEAN AND MAINTAIN MY
TOWN ON 15 AUGUST 2014
as an eye opener and further encourage of all of us to
continue to support such initiatives.
Before I conclude, I wish to welcome and acknowledge the
sponsorship, support and commitment demonstrated by
Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of
Agriculture,Rural Development Land and Environmental
Affairs, GSDM, TWK, Sign Art, to mention but a few, in
making the event a success. I am therefore calling upon
all of you to be ambassadors within your own space. The
ambassadors I am referring tohere are volunteers who
protectswhat one can call “mother nature” by doing
anything they can to prevent further environmental
degradation.This can be through planting trees, educating
the public and just holding cleaning exercises from time to
time. We are well on track in achieving this mission we
set.
With this few words I declare the Clean and Maintain my
Town officially launched.
I thank you
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