Bonang Lesedi Recycling and buy back centre
Established at a cost of R1.2 million with the assistance of Buyisa-e-Bag it is aimed at encouraging the collection, re-use and recycling of plastic shopping bags that are discarded in the waste stream, as well as making provision for the collection of litter from environmentally sensitive areas that include rural areas, tourist area17s low and high density socio economic urban areas.
A typical inter-governmental project, Bonang Lesedi Recycling and Buy Back Centre is the fruit of collaboration between the Buyisa-e-Bag funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs, Moqhaka Local Municipality and the Free State Department of Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
This community empowerment project is part of promoting sound and sustainable environmental management practice through green jobs creation to promote the Green Economy. Championed by Councillor Nakedi, the project epitomises the concept of people at work and that working together we can do more.
It has currently 39 beneficiaries and is destined to grow even bigger with its recyclable waste directly sold without third parties. The main objective is to ensure that the project contributes towards long term sustainable environment that is free of plastic bags and general waste.
Among others, the project will contribute towards the following overall objectives:
- Public education and awareness programmes
- Ensure continuous sustainable clean-up campaigns
- Alleviate poverty by creating decent jobs
- Support SMME development
- Support other garden refuse site recycling.
Enormous benefits will be derived from this project in the medium to long term. As the Deputy Minister of Environment, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi once indicated, “If we learn to recycle our waste we will create business and employment opportunities. Waste is wealth and can grow SMME’s in transport, compactors, collectors and compost. This will help scavengers who live in land fill sites to create an opportunity to break free from poverty.”
Speaking about waste and recycling, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism, Environmental Affairs, Mr Mxolisi Dukwana, says, “Waste is both the consequence of and a symptom of lives lived unwisely. We have been living beyond the sustainable capacity of the planet for a very long time and our challenge is to find the ways of living our lives in ways that do not contribute towards global warming, climate change, deforestation, resource depletion or the destruction of habitat and biodiversity.”
Managing waste in crucial for environment. A holistic and integrated management approach extends over the entire waste cycle from cradle to grave and covers prevention, generation, collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal of waste.
MEC Dukwana and the CEO of Buyisa-e-Bag Mr Shirleigh Strydom will officialy launch the project in Brent Park Kroonstad on Friday, 17 September 2010.
Izekhaya Guest Lodge
The business was started in 2004 by its owner Sechaba Simila in 2004 and is the first black owned and `black managed accommodation facility in Kroonstad. It is currently the only popular and renowned hospitality facility within the Free State Province of its magnitude solely started from scratch by an affirmable entrepreneur with a four star rating.
It started with eight rooms but today boasts the following:
- 48 state of the art executive standard rooms and a 300 people conference facility
- two extra conference rooms to accommodate 30 - 50 delegates
- boardrooms , one of which can accommodate 50 delegates
- dining halls, one of which can accommodate 100 delegates including licensed bar facilities.
It employs 16 fulltime employees of which 11 are female and five are male, with the current construction expansion employing 18 contract workers. The Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs is assisting with greening including landscaping of the facility. SEDA and TEP will assist the with business support management and training support skills. The financial injection to the current expansions is R5 million and is destined to employ six more people at this lodge.
