Hundreds turn up for Mariental clean-up

REHOBOTH, 22 MAY  – Mariental Municipality Public Relations Officer (PRO), Domingo Matesu declared the clean-up day attended by about 500 people in Mariental on Monday as part of the nationwide clean-up campaign, a huge success.
Speaking to Nampa on Monday, Matesu said the public came out in big numbers to clean their town.
“The community really stood up and made their mark by being part of the campaign. It really showed they want Mariental to be clean,” Matesu said.
He said residents and visitors should now refrain from dumping their rubbish anywhere.
“They should now take a stand and report those that willingly dump their trash anywhere. We have skip containers where they can throw in their garden rubble and each house is provided with wheelie-bins to make use of,” he said.
Matesu further said it is time people take cleanliness seriously.
“Cleanliness starts at home and should be practiced in public. A clean environment will go a long way in attracting investors to Mariental.
Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, who was also part of the clean-up alongside Deputy Minister of Land Reform, Priscilla Beukes, said the participants were energised and jovial during the event.
“It was a special moment to see people this happy for a clean-up day. We were divided into groups and I was part of a group cleaning near the railway, where everyone was in good spirits,” she said.
Hanse-Himarwa said she proposed a similar venture when she was still governor of the Hardap Region.
“We should not wait for this type of day to clean our environment and should start at home. I remember during my birthday in 2012, I called a clean-up day in Mariental and encouraged people to make cleanliness an everyday routine and clean each town in the region,” Hanse-Himarwa said.
She said cleanliness starts at individual level, then to family cleanliness and should be converted into environmental cleanliness.
The minister urged people to make cleanliness a tradition and suggested a competition should be implemented among regions to award the cleanest region.
“People can also appoint ward cleaning committees in keeping their areas clean. If there is a specific area that is not adhering or transgressing, then they should be fined,” she concluded.
School learners in Hardap commenced a two-day clean-up operation on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, residents of Kalkrand will clean their village, while the main clean-up of the region will take place in Rehoboth on Friday.

NAMPA