Honourable Mayors
Representatives of MECs
Representatives of Municipalities
Director-General of Environmental Affairs
Provincial Heads of Departments
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I am extremely humbled to be part of this audience that tonight is celebrating cleanliness and will be bestowing accolades upon the municipalities that have shown commitment to clean and green environment. I am sure that we all derive inspiration from the teaching and understanding that cleanliness is next to godliness. Needles to say, the struggle for the liberation of our country gave birth to a democratic dispensation with a world acclaimed Constitution that enshrines the right to a clean environment to all our people.
One of the key areas that we as government have identified as requiring our intervention is the building of a healthy nation. The attainment of that objective is our collective responsibility, especially with the municipalities being the first level of government that our people interact with. This ceremony tonight is one of a myriad of activities we are undertaking to recognise the incredible amount of work discharged by various municipalities in efforts geared towards the attainment of a better life for our people.
The Cleanest Town Competition or CTC as it is known is part of our efforts with our partners Indalo Yethu and Buyisa eBag to raise the consciousness of various municipalities and their respective communities on responsible waste management practices. One of the benefits we derive from initiatives like the CTC is the reinforcement of proper waste management practices while also creating the potential for job creation.
The prize money for the Cleanest Town Competition award is tied to the implementation of waste related, job creation project as approved according to the terms and conditions of Social Responsibility and Policy Projects (SRPP) driven by the Department of Environmental Affairs. This funding is of greater strategic importance as it helped galvanize local municipalities to initiate action projects that addresses their integrated development plans (IDPs). This has allowed municipalities to also forge links with the SRPP mandate of creating temporary employment and offering skills development opportunities. At the moment, greater opportunities for the creation of employment and skills development exist within waste management, precisely what the competition seeks to promote.
The competition enjoys much prominence in provinces and local municipalities, and has thus far raised a higher level of education and awareness on proper waste management practices. Further to that, the 2010 World Cup presents a compelling case for the department to sustain the competition and locate it within the greening projects as part of the National Environmental Awareness campaigns.
The expected spin offs of the CTC are the following; the creation of a cleaner and safer environment to live in, job opportunities (short and long term) and business opportunities and capacity building on waste management at a local and implementation level. This competition is an annual calendar event that must be seen by all of us as a multi stakeholder, cross-sectoral platform that we should use to facilitate participation of municipalities, communities and other stakeholders in addressing the waste management problems that beset their respective environments.
The Waste Act requires all municipalities to develop and implement Integrated Waste Management Plans (IWMP’s). These plans should be integrated into the municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDP’s). Integrated planning affords us an opportunity to influence planning decisions which in return puts waste management services as part of the priorities for municipalities. Implementation of waste minimisation as required by the Waste Act requires a review of service provision institutional arrangements in terms of the Municipal Systems Act.
This legislation has revolutionised waste management in our country by making municipalities recognise the need to raise the profile of waste management and bring it to par with the other services like water and electricity.
Programme director, from 10 to 15 September, we will join other nations of the world that value cleanliness as much as we do as we celebrate the National Clean up Week, which is observed under the guidance of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In South Africa, our programme should cover the whole month of September with our programme kicking off in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
I would also like to announce the renaming of this competition from the Cleanest Town Competition to the Greenest Municipalities Competition (GMC). Although the CTC was fairly successful in achieving its objectives, developments within the greening movement require the concept to embody other elements which are outside the waste management category.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the winners of the 2008/09 CTC as we look forward to a new look Greenest Municipality Competition.
I thank you!
Issued by: Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs
4 August 2009
