Windhoek asks public to join mayoral clean-up drive

Windhoek mayor Queen Kamati has called on the business community to contribute rubbish bins to the capital’s streets.

“This initiative aims to highlight the importance of maintaining our city’s cleanliness. Continuous efforts in this regard are crucial for us to reclaim the title of cleanest city in Africa,” Kamati told The Namibian yesterday.

The municipality has called on the public to participate in the Mayoral Clean-Up Campaign to be launched in the Tobias Hainyeko constituency, at the corner of Ongete and Ongava streets, on Saturday. City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya says the initiative is part of the City of Windhoek’s ongoing commitment to improving solid waste management and maintaining the city’s cleanliness and beauty. “The campaign is expected to attract many participants, including the local community within the constituency, city councillors, officials and other stakeholders” she says.

Amutenya says Windhoek is moving towards being a ‘green city’ by reducing illegal dumping, promoting responsible waste management and encouraging community participation in keeping the city clean.

The campaign is part of the city’s efforts to promote a sustainable city, which includes maintaining a healthy and hygienic environment for residents, she says. Amutenya says the initiative is complemented by others, such as the recently launched Waste Buy-Back Centre at Katutura, which enables residents to recycle their waste and receive incentives for their efforts while ensuring a clean environment. She says the campaign’s success relies on the community’s involvement.

“Businesses and other stakeholders can support the campaign by participating in clean-up activities, sponsoring events and promoting the message of sustainable waste management within their networks. “Their involvement is essential in creating a collective effort towards a cleaner city,” she says. “We have already received support from various stakeholders for the upcoming event, and we are looking forward to more participation from our corporate and government institutions going forward,” she says. One of the measures the municipality has taken to manage waste effectively is the drafting of the solid waste management policy in 2010 under the theme ‘Moving Towards a Green City’. This policy provides the foundation and framework for managing solid waste within Windhoek, Amutenya says. “Our ongoing clean-up campaigns under the theme ‘My Waste, My Responsibility’ include initiatives like the ‘Catch Them Young’ programme, focusing on schools, which has now transformed into a school recycling competition,” she says.

Amutenya says the city also promotes sorting waste at the source by providing participating households with clear bags for recycling, aiming to reduce waste ending up at landfill sites.

“We are encouraging a circular economy through an incubator start-up involving that people in low-income areas add value to recycled materials and sell them,” she says.

This year’s Mayoral Clean-Up Campaign will be launched tomorrow and will continue until the end of November.

The initiative will move to various constituencies in Windhoek.