By Nangamso Mabindla
28 August 2006

WASTE management in Duncan Village came under the spotlight when Buffalo City councillors and officials and their Leiden counterparts recently visited the township.

Part of the Buffalo City-Leiden partnership, the focus of the visit was making Duncan Village a better place for residents to live in. Schools, taxi ranks and informal traders were the main targets.

The City's portfolio head for social services, Mankomo Pango, said that the team wanted to work with schools, especially children in primary education, to ensure proper waste management in Duncan Village.

"We are very concerned about environmental waste management in the area, and we would like to forge a partnership with schools and involve them in our efforts to improve the hygiene conditions in Duncan Village."

During the Integrated Development Plan public participation process, communities raised concerns about housing, roads and transport, water, clinics and schools, but did not show much concern about environmental issues, Pango said.

The opportunity to work alongside the City would enable the community to understand waste management and benefit the whole of Duncan Village. "We want to instil co-operation between the communities and the City; and with this programme we hope that we are heading in the right direction and also that it bears fruit," said Pango.

Buffalo City and the Dutch municipality of Leiden wanted to encourage a sense of environmental responsibility at a very young age, and visited the Lujiza, Nompumelelo and Inyathi primary schools.

Lujiza had a vegetable garden and was planning to plant trees on Arbor Day, 1 September. Nompumelelo, had a perma culture (permanent agriculture) project, which included a vegetable garden, fruit trees, herbs for people with HIV and Aids.

"We also plan to incorporate environmental lessons for our learners for the next curriculum year," said Xolisa Mpengu, of Nompumelelo Primary School.

Fred Goedbloed from Leiden's waste management department said that the aim of the project was to make Duncan Village a cleaner place. "We want to improve waste collection in the area and also work with the community to solve environmental problems."

Buffalo City and Leiden also wanted to improve public awareness on hygiene and cleanliness, he added. "We want to talk to the people about waste collection rules and also change collection points in the area, and thus reduce the number of illegal dumps."

After visiting the schools, the group visited local taxi ranks and informal traders.