The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Jolidee Matongo, lit up the inner city as he steered a #KleenaJoburgReloaded campaign in the Joburg Inner City.

The Mayor was accompanied by Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Cllr Mpho Moerane, MMC for Finance, Cllr Matshidiso Mfikoe, the Speaker of Council, Cllr Nonceba Molwele, Ward Councillor Cllr Francina Mashao and other senior managers of the city and its entities.

The Mayor led over 100 Pikitup street sweepers as they went from street to street, sprucing them up. The operation focused on several litter hotspots such as Noord, De Villiers, Wanderers, Klein and King George streets. Teams used equipment such as bob cat, tippers, brooms, shovels, mechanical sweepers and refuse bags to give downtown Joburg a good scrub.

Addressing the employees, the Mayor said the job of the municipality is to attract, retain and expand investment into the city. “It is crucial that we work hard to keep our city clean. The inner city is cleaned three times a day. We have to enforce by-laws and arrest people who are littering and process them through the Municipal courts.  We will win when we come up with innovative ways and have more hands on deck,” Mayor Matongo said.

The Mayor was joined by a multidisciplinary team comprising Joburg Water, Pikitup and City Power.  The team focused on sweeping, litter picking, repairing streets lights, collecting waste, removing illegal dumping sites and repairing vandalised infrastructure. Joburg water officials repaired water metres with stolen valves and those that had been vandalised.

According to MMC Moerane, three hundred Pikitup employees work every night to sweep the streets of Joburg. “We are asking the community to work with us. Do not litter. We will enforce bylaws and we cannot be using resources to go after people all the time. We urge residents to use the provided 240 litre bins and keep the city clean,” he said. 

“By keeping the environment clean, we guarantee future generations a habitable environment, let’s keep our city clean”, implored Cllr Mfikoe.

The operation followed the Mayor’s address to the top management of the city declaring urgency to heighten the accelerated service delivery programme.