Clean-up drive breathes life into Midrand CBD

15 June 2017

 

City of Joburg entities such as the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Pikitup, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo (JCPZ) and the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) pooled their resources to give the Midrand central business district a new lease on life.

 

The cleanup campaign, on Wednesday, 14 June was part of Region A's ongoing quarterly programme to keep the area grime free.

Pikitup focused on litter picking – especially around the Midrand Taxi Rank – as well as the clearing of illegal dumping sites.

JRA concentrated on the reconstruction of damaged kerb inlets, especially around the Halfway House area, while JMPD clamped down on illegal parking, outdoor advertising and car wash businesses.

JCPZ, for its part, attended to grass cutting.

The region’s cleanup drive was coupled with an Environmental Health Department’s campaign, during which environmental health practitioners inspected informal food traders to ensure they complied with the Certificate of Acceptability (COA).

According to applicable regulations, no vendor is allowed to sell food unless he or she possesses a valid COA.

One of the requirements is that only foodstuffs obtained from a supplier in possession of a COA may be kept and used for the preparation of food.

Regional Director Abigail Ndlovu said she and her team were committed to maintaining high standards of service delivery in the region, including Midrand, one of its key economic hubs.
“Apart from concentrating on service delivery issues we also concentrated on health issues,” Ndlovu said.

Environmental Health Practitioner Andre Lourens said his department’s campaign also targeted people who serviced cars in open spaces, polluting the environment in the process, and those who washed vehicles, especially taxis, on sidewalks.

"The water they use runs into storm water drains, which take it straight to the river. This pollutes the rivers and water sources,” Lourens said.

Midrand bottle store owner Luvuyo Gqama welcomed both the cleanup and environmental health campaigns, saying they had made a great impact on the environment.