Minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment Barbara Creecy accompanied by ward 80 residents in Philippi had a clean-up campaign to preserve the environment on Friday 10 February.
The campaign was mainly focused on cleaning the pond near Siyanyanzela informal settlement .
Creecy described the event as a follow-up from the call that was made by the residents last year in December.
“Last year in December I accompanied President Cyril Ramaphosa when he visited the area. The residents complained about the condition of the pond citing that they have a problem with it. They cited that it is dirty, and criminals kill people and dump their bodies in there. Sometimes the same criminals hide the stolen goods in the pond,” said Creecy adding that she is there today to fulfil her promises.
She said she engaged with the City officials and agreed the pond will be cleaned and fenced after that.
However, she didn’t confirm when that project will resume.
Creecy urged the community to take care of the environment.
“People must stop illegal dumping. Children must take all the bottles, cupboards, and plastic to school for recycling. There is a lot of money in recycling,” she appealed.
The minister vowed to come back soon to check if there is any progress.
