Cape Town – Mayor Dan Plato got his hands dirty at Uitsig this morning at the sixth stop in his clean-up campaign in the city.
"Today, was the sixth stop of my clean-up campaign against grime, which is aimed at educating the public about keeping our communities clean and reporting illegal dumping to enhance the work done by the city’s Solid Waste Department.
"The staff from our Solid Waste Department do their best to keep areas clean with regular refuse removal, but the responsibility not to litter is on residents," said Plato.
"The Keep Cape Town Clean campaign was launched in March with the intention of both cleaning up our beautiful city, and at the same time educating our residents about the important role they play in keeping our city clean.
"While City officials carry out their cleaning duties on a daily basis, we want to encourage our communities to be proud of where they live and ensure that their neighbourhoods stay clean.
"The City is pleased that as a result of this initiative many residents and organisations have organised their own clean-ups at beaches, rivers and many other locations.
"In my January adjustment budget, I allocated R115 million to help tackle grime and it has had the desired result. We now need to keep the momentum going and continue to drive the message of keeping our neighbourhoods clean."
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Waste, Xanthea Limberg, said: "Each and every time we visit an area to roll-up our sleeves and conduct a clean-up, I am heartened by the enthusiasm demonstrated by residents who join in the effort.
‘It’s clear that residents want to restore beauty and cleanliness to their neighbourhoods, and are prepared to work together with the City to achieve this goal. The only way that lasting change will be seen is through teamwork.
"We will soon be kicking-off the second component of this campaign, which will involve revisiting the spaces we have cleaned-up and see how they have been maintained. I hope to see that they have been prevented from becoming littered and unhealthy again."
Illegal dumping is harmful and against the law. Vehicles used in illegal dumping can be confiscated and a release fee of nearly R16 000 will be charged, over-and-above the fines issued for dumping.
To report illegal dumping, residents are urged to call the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089.