In a bid to address the triple challenges of “poverty, joblessness and inequality” in the area, Mogale City recently appointed more than 500 young people through the participation in the in-house ‘Greening and Cleaning’ Programme.
The programme which is based in the Integrated Environmental Management Department (DIEM) which will see participants embarking on ‘street cleaning and litter picking, Waste collection, Eradication and rehabilitation of illegal dumping hotspots and dumping sites, Waste separation, Environmental education and awareness activities and Greening and Tree Planting’.
The programme is in partnership with the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
According to the Member of Mayoral Committee (MMC) Xolile Mkruquli, the programme is suitable for Mogale City to participate as it seeks to enable more waste management capacity within the Municipality whilst addressing service delivery, skills development, unemployment and creating cleaner and greener towns.
“So, as Mogale City Local Municipality, we are very much happy that we are able to create employment for young people, and we hope to achieve cleaner and greener communities through this programme and to ensure that our people can get employment, even if it’s for a short time,” Councillor Mkruquli said.
“Councillor Mkruquli also added that “this programme is to ensure that at the end of the contract that the participants were able to acquire experience and feed their families at the same time whilst keeping their own communities clean and green”. The 500 plus beneficiaries are contracted workers through a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Mogale City and the DFFE. The original contractual period had to be reduced to due to budget cuts suffered by the funder of the programme, therefore the programme will conclude at the 31 July 2024, with no option to extend due to budget shortages.
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Soweto Sunrise News
