16 July 2014
President Jacob Zuma will take part in an Operation Clean Up for Madiba activity at the Nelson Mandela School of Science and Technology in Mvezo in the Eastern Cape on international Nelson Mandela Day on Friday.
Zuma said on Monday that the government had decided to honour Mandela’s memory this year through a massive Operation Clean Up for Madiba campaign, and called on all South Africans to “demonstrate our love for our beautiful country by cleaning our surroundings together.
“In this way, we will be promoting working together to build our beautiful country, which is what Madiba taught us as South Africans,” Zuma said in a statement. “Secondly, we will also be demonstrating our collective commitment to a cleaner, safer and healthier environment and communities.”
Zuma also urged both the public and private sectors to seriously reflect on how they dispose of waste. “We urge municipalities as well to use this campaign to discuss further improving refuse removal services in under-serviced communities.”
The President said the Clean Up for Madiba campaign would build on existing environmental programmes, including Expanded Public Works Programme initiatives tackling waste, pollution and alien invasive vegetation, which had created over 700 000 work opportunities and 200 000 full-time equivalent jobs since 2009.
It was also part of promoting the country’s growing green economy, he said.
“For example, last year, we announced the National Green Fund with an R800-million allocation to support and catalyse investment in the green and lower carbon economy. This fund is now completely oversubscribed, with applications to the tune of some R10-billion, and has already approved investment of over R400-million in job-creating green economy projects with municipalities, other organs of state, community organisations and the private sector.
After taking part in Friday’s clean-up activity, Zuma will officially open the Mvezo Komkhulu Museum, which will help to educate tourists on the history of Mandela and his family and how it is located as a royal family in the Thembu monarchy.
SAinfo reporter
