City of Tshwane's Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Agriculture Management, Obakeng Ramabodu, and taxi rank officials inspect an illegal dumping site adjacent to Mabopane Taxi Rank during a World Environment Day commemoration event.
Image: Rapula Moatshe
As part of the commemoration of World Environment Day, City of Tshwane's Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environment and Agriculture Management, Obakeng Ramabodu, issued a stern warning to smokers to stop discarding cigarette butts indiscriminately, particularly at taxi ranks.
"We want to encourage them to start taking care of the environment," Ramabodu said during the event held at Mabopane Taxi Station on Thursday.
The event aimed to promote a culture of maintaining a clean environment and to encourage the public to refrain from littering and disposing of waste indiscriminately.
Ramabodu's call comes as the taxi station faces environmental challenges, such as a lack of skip bins for hawkers to dispose of their rubbish.
Vuyisile Jaxa, secretary of the Soshanguve Taxi Owners Association, emphasised the importance of having waste bins available to encourage people to dispose of their waste properly.
However, he noted that the problems at the taxi station go beyond litter, adding that commuters and taxi drivers are also grappling with an infestation of oversized rodents, describing them as "rats that are as big as cats".
"And can you imagine that these rats are being fed by our people when they throw litter around at the back of their stalls," he said.
The taxi association has teamed up with Botshilu Private Hospital and other stakeholders under the banner 'Keeping Soshanguve Clean Campaign' to address these issues.
"We want to roll out this thing quarterly to make sure the whole of Soshanguve is clean. It is very important to have skip bins and small dustbins next to the stalls and next to our taxis. People come with food, especially when taking long-distance taxis. If there are dustbins nearby, we can encourage them to throw leftovers inside them," Jaxa said.
In response, Ramabodu acknowledged the problems at the station and pledged to prioritise the provision of waste bins and to formalise dumping sites in the area.
"We are going to direct all dumping to a specific area so that the municipality can collect it consistently. What is important is that we have identified the issue of the waste bins around the station and we are going to prioritise that," he said.
Despite the challenges, Ramabodu commended the taxi station for being relatively clean compared to other stations in Gauteng.
"We want to encourage them to continue doing the good work," he said.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za