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GEORGE NEWS - Access to clean water for basic human needs is the reason why the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) started a campaign to clean up rivers throughout the Western Cape. The Clear Rivers Campaign is closely associated with volunteer activities that are linked to Mandela Month.
The highly polluted Schaapkop River at the back of Thembalethu marked the place where all the role players met last Friday (14 July) to launch the campaign. The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pamela Tshwete, joined a group of volunteers from Thembalethu and representatives of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), George Municipality and the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (CMA) for this event.
During a visit to George earlier this year, local farmers in Thembalethu complained to Tshwete about the state of the Schaapkop River. The river runs through Thembalethu and supplies Thembalethu farmers with irrigation water.
With this in mind, Tshwete wanted to make sure the first river cleanup happens in George.
"This campaign must also teach our communities not to pollute the rivers. Once the water is polluted, you can contract water-borne diseases," said Tshwete.
CEO of the Breede-Gouritz CMA, Phakamani Buthelezi, stressed the importance of cleaning the rivers with the help of the community. "South Africa is divided into nine water management areas. We are established here in the Western Cape to look after this area. Our primary role is not to be an ivory tower organisation, but to work with the communities to find common solutions for our common problems," he said. "This is not only one event, it will be a process we shall continue to maintain and ensure that water quality in the Eden region is supreme."
The Strategic Water Partnership Network as well as the National Business Initiative (NBI) are the official partners to the DWS in the Clear Rivers Campaign.
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