Sonjica Raises Environmental Awareness
July 27th, 2009South Africa. “I am extremely concerned about the state of our environment, especially in the townships and other municipal areas”. These are the words of Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica about the state of the county’s poor environment.
The Minister expressed her concern and said that it was a violation to a person’s constitutional right to clean surroundings.
At a Local Government Indaba, the Minister said: “We as a department are extremely worried that our communities have to live in such squalid conditions that violate their constitutional right to a clean environment.”
She urged communities, stakeholders and municipalities to forge partnerships to take better care of the environment and added that there was a need to focus on financial resources committed to environmental management.
The minister added that everyone has a responsibility, which included the community. Everyone should be active agents of a clean environment. Clean-up campaigns such as Indalo Yethu and Buyisa e Bag which aims at heightening awareness in communities all benefit the environment and should be intensified.
Municipalities were challenged to prioritise amongst others waste management and greening of townships to restore the dignity of people and in the same vein become active agents of greening efforts.
She concluded: “We must as all the three spheres of government solidify our efforts aimed at forging lasting and working partnerships that will assist us as government in greening our townships.”
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