Minister of Environmental Affairs welcomes Good Green Deeds efforts
The Minister of Environmental Affairs Ms Nomvula Mokonyane has welcomed the efforts by various stakeholders including business, industries, labour and civil society in cleaning South Africa as part of the Good Green Deeds programme.
The Good Green Deeds programme was recently launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa with an objective of mobilising all sectors of South Africa to become more environmentally conscious. The programme seeks to promote behavioural change towards littering, illegal dumping and waste in general.
The Minister’s remarks echoes the President’s call at the launch of the Good Green Deeds programme whereby he called on all South Africans to make a difference in their communities by doing clean-up activities.
Speaking at the launch of the Good Green Deeds programme President Ramaphosa urged South Africans to embark on a new era of consciousness. “So let us commit today, right here and right now, that we will each do one Good Green Deed a day, for the sake of ourselves, for the sake of others, and for the sake of our country. A clean environment is feasible and is necessary, and, ultimately, will become an important source of national pride,” said President Ramaphosa.
In response to the President’s call South Africans have been actively working around the clock to ensure that they keep the country clean. Minister Mokonyane was recently in Pietermaritzburg where she participated during the Good Green Deeds chapter of KwaZulu-Natal. Other activities took place in Pretoria, Mbombela, Tembisa, Moletsi village, Galeshewe, Sterkspruit, Colesburg, to name but a few.
“We are truly encouraged by the efforts of different stakeholders towards the implementation of the clarion call to individuals, private sector, labour, NGO’s, interfaith formations and society at large to clean South Africa, making our cities, towns and rural areas places where it is safe and healthy for all to live,” said Minister Mokonyane.
Since the launch of the programme, tons of waste have been collected in different communities in efforts to improve health and wellbeing of South Africans as well as the very appearance of our country by eradicating illegal dumping, littering and unsustainable waste management practices.
The initial stage of the programme focuses on cleaning of litter and eradication of illegal dumping across South Africa. Cleaning of water bodies – rivers, dams and lakes will lead to an ocean space free of litter that is otherwise deadly to the marine species.
Minister Mokonyane continues to call on all South Africans to participate in various Good Green Deeds activities in their communities. In the coming week, a number of clean-up activities will take place as follows:
|
Date and Time |
Area |
Contact Person |
|
29 March 2019 at 07:00 |
Olievenhoutbosch, Pretoria |
Yvonne Mashishi – 082 805 0088 |
|
29 March 2019 at 07:00 |
Westernburg Hall Polokwane, Limpopo |
Peter Mbelengwa – 082 611 8197 |
|
01 April 2019 at 07:00 |
Mthatha, Eastern Cape |
Ernest Mulibana – 082 263 7372 |
|
01 April 2019 at 07:00 |
Walmer, Port Elizabeth |
Gabriel Dlamini – 083 256 6308 |
|
10 April 2019 at 07:00 |
Mothibistad, Kuruman |
Paul Sigutya – 082 883 5570 |
Over and above clean-up activities, the responsible environmental practices encouraged by Good Green Deeds programme include the use of clean technology in all sectors of the economy, particularly in transport, agriculture, mining, manufacturing and construction industries to name but a few. Furthermore, the programme promotes better planning and involvement of all role players in building green spaces, community parks, land use, and sustainable human settlements.
All of these efforts are geared towards the attainment of everyone’s Constitutional right to an environment that is clean and not harmful to the health and wellbeing of the people of South Africa.
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Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871
