The usually bustling intersection of Lois and Vorster streets in Glenanda, south of Joburg was brought to a halt as motorists drove at a snail’s pace following an invasion of the A Re Sebetseng army in the area.
Leading from the front, as usual, City of Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Herman Mashaba, flanked by the MMC for Corporate and Shared Services Cllr Ntombi Khumalo and the beautiful Miss Earth and Mrs Cancer, waded into the Glenanda spruit armed with gloves, plastic bags and a rake.
When Mashaba's team was done, close to 20 refuse bags were bursting at the seams with rubbish from the pristine stream.
Young male drivers whistled, drove by slowly, others hooted, but the team was focused on giving Glenanda, a stone’s throw from the Glen shopping mall in the City’s Region F, a clean makeover.
A Coca-Cola resident DJ hit the decks to get the crowd of over 60 volunteers pumped up, as Speaker of Council, Vasco Da Gama brought out the Picasso in him, repainting road markings under the watchful guidance of Joburg Roads Agency personnel.
Instead of hitting the balls on the greens with his mates, JRA chairman Sipho Tshabalala answered Mayor Mashaba’s clarion call to keep Joburg litter free. “I’m leading by example. Let’s keep our city clean,” said Tshabalala, standing between bags bulging with litter and debris.
A Re Sebetseng is the City of Johannesburg’s monthly clean-up campaign modelled on the Rwandan Umuganda, which requires all citizens in the tiny African country to clean their surroundings on the last Saturday of every month. Joburg hosts its clean up campaign on the third Saturday of each month.
Out in Ndofaya, commonly known as Meadowlands, MMC for Community Development Cllr Nonhlanhla Sifumba led a throng of volunteers who obliterated litter and unsightly stuff at a blink of an eye in Zone 6.
Not to be outdone, Cllr Julie Suddaby and 14 volunteers worked hard around JB Matebane School in Ivory Park in the City’s Region A. In Ward 94, Cllr David Foley was joined by members of Night guard Security and residents of Fairfield. They were not chasing after tsotsis, but running rings around litter and dirt.
Mayor Mashaba summed it up: “Everywhere I take A Re Sebetseng, I see the number of volunteers growing every month. We’re on to a good thing and I’m glad that some residents brought their children to our clean-up campaign. Let’s create a cleaner future for our residents.”
