Durban — In a bid to return to the image of cleanliness, eThekwini Municipality has roped in celebrities in its spring-cleaning campaign.
Led by the mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, and deputy mayor Philani Mavundla, celebrities like Duduzane Zuma, DJ Tira and many other musicians rolled up their sleeves on Thursday and went to trenches to clean streets and stormwater drains.
The campaign, which generated a lot of public interest, was organised by the city’s Human Settlements and Infrastructure section and led by Mavundla as the committee head, his deputy councillor Sifiso Mkhize and the committee whip, Cheryl Sisoka.
A statement issued by Mavundla said the activity involved celebrities and was supported by some of Durban’s most prominent artists, who came on board as goodwill ambassadors for the clean-up campaign. Private and public sector stakeholders, municipality staff, members of the inner-city community and well-wishers were present.
The deputy mayor said the clean-up was held in a bid to promote the city’s month-long Spring Clean-Up campaign, which was launched last week by the mayor, who also rolled up his sleeves and joined the CBD clean-up.
He said on Thursday’s leg of the citywide clean-up campaign formed part of the Human Settlements cluster’s initiative famously known as #HSIThursday, which is a standing programme aimed at actively driving service delivery by departments within the cluster.
“I am pleased that this campaign was a huge success, and equally would like to thank DJ Tira, who when I approached him with this idea, was receptive to it and gave us his full support. He went over and beyond by inviting other local artists to come on board as goodwill ambassadors for the campaign, and in the spirit of giving back to their beloved city through promoting cleanliness and raising awareness about and taking care of the environment. Our artists understand the critical role played by cleanliness and environmental conservation to economic development,” said Mavundla.
He added that positive economic spin-offs of such campaigns on the tourism and recreational economy of the city were what inspired the artists to participate without any form of remuneration or financial compensation.
He said the participants were instead guided by the spirit of Ubuntu, and wanting the best for the people and economy of their city.
Mavundla commended the display of maturity and goodwill by artists, who continue to put Durban on the map. He thanked Duduzane, who has on other occasions rallied behind the city in cleaning efforts across eThekwini.
He said last weekend Duduzane put together his teams and asked for his support in cleaning up the Quarry Road informal settlements and riverbank. He commended him for displaying responsible citizenship and giving back with no expectations from the municipality.
However, the DA was not impressed by the clean-up campaign and accused Mavundla of roping in Duduzane to cling to his deputy mayor position ahead of an imminent reshuffle in the city’s executive committee.
DA councillor Zamani Khuzwayo questioned Mavundla’s failure to inform the Human Settlements Committee about Duduzane’s involvement during the committee meeting on Tuesday. But Mavundla dismissed the DA accusations, saying Duduzane had been involved in many cleaning campaigns in and around the city.
Daily News