The emergency clean-up of Kosovo in Philippi, which was heavily affected by the recent floods and has had no rubbish collected for six months, is set to begin.
More than 300 residents of Kosovo, in Philippi, turned out for a community meeting at the Colorado Hall on Monday night to discuss the emergency clean-up, to start on Thursday, ordered by mayor Helen Zille after she discovered that had been no rubbish collection in the area for six months.
On Tuesday morning acting executive director of city health, Soraya Elloker, said it was important to get community buy in.
Elloker has been tasked by Zille to do "whatever is necessary to protect the health of the people in the area by ordering emergency cleansing programmes", including getting police assistance.
Elloker confirmed that the emergency clean-up would start on Thursday and that the City's health department would be monitoring the process.
Anwar Isaacs, the City's manager of community participation, said before Monday night's meeting that the City was trying to reach an "amicable solution" and that police escorts would only be used "if people start being affected in terms of the law".
Ward Councillor Monwabisi Mbaliswana said he had secured an agreement with Mayco members to employ 80 Kosovo residents in the project.
The residents had debated the manner of selection before deciding on putting names of those wanting jobs in a bucket and picking 80 people at random.
The selection process was due to start at 9am on Tuesday, he said.
Zille ordered emergency cleansing programmes to be introduced in the informal settlement after discovering that community conflicts had disrupted the rubbish collection process.
The plight of the residents was brought to the fore after protests over a lack of housing and service delivery erupted in the city last week, prompted by recent widespread flooding.
Zille visited Kosovo and other informal settlements last week after the protests and said she was shocked to the core by the situation in Kosovo where people were "drowning in rubbish".
"Failure to clean up will inevitably lead to disease and possible death in the near future," said Zille at the time.
Zille had said clogged drains were "intimately linked to flooding".
"The situation has now reached crisis proportions and is totally untenable," she said. - Cape Argus
More than 300 residents of Kosovo, in Philippi, turned out for a community meeting at the Colorado Hall on Monday night to discuss the emergency clean-up, to start on Thursday, ordered by mayor Helen Zille after she discovered that had been no rubbish collection in the area for six months.
On Tuesday morning acting executive director of city health, Soraya Elloker, said it was important to get community buy in.
| 'It was important to get community buy in' |
Elloker confirmed that the emergency clean-up would start on Thursday and that the City's health department would be monitoring the process.
Anwar Isaacs, the City's manager of community participation, said before Monday night's meeting that the City was trying to reach an "amicable solution" and that police escorts would only be used "if people start being affected in terms of the law".
Ward Councillor Monwabisi Mbaliswana said he had secured an agreement with Mayco members to employ 80 Kosovo residents in the project.
The residents had debated the manner of selection before deciding on putting names of those wanting jobs in a bucket and picking 80 people at random.
| 'Zille visited Kosovo and other informal settlements last week' |
Zille ordered emergency cleansing programmes to be introduced in the informal settlement after discovering that community conflicts had disrupted the rubbish collection process.
The plight of the residents was brought to the fore after protests over a lack of housing and service delivery erupted in the city last week, prompted by recent widespread flooding.
Zille visited Kosovo and other informal settlements last week after the protests and said she was shocked to the core by the situation in Kosovo where people were "drowning in rubbish".
"Failure to clean up will inevitably lead to disease and possible death in the near future," said Zille at the time.
Zille had said clogged drains were "intimately linked to flooding".
"The situation has now reached crisis proportions and is totally untenable," she said. - Cape Argus
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