Councillor of Gobabis, Augustinus Tebele has appealed to both the private and public sectors to work together and devise strategies to address waste pollution, thereby contributing to environmental conservation.
Tebele made this appeal during a clean-up campaign organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as well as the Gobabis Municipality.
Addressing the participants of the clean-up campaign, Tebele expressed the need for stakeholders to develop additional strategies and launch awareness campaigns to ensure the timely cleanliness of their surroundings.
"Plastic pollution and its detrimental impact on health and the environment cannot be ignored. The scorch of plastic pollution is a visible threat that negatively impacts the environment. Plastic pollution creates a negative image of our country, especially those scatted around the national road network and surrounding households, towns, settlements, and villages across the country. Therefore, urgent action is required to address plastic pollution."
Mayor Melba Tjozongoro, in her remarks, highlighted that the town council, in collaboration with partners, is working towards ensuring a clean environment in the town.
Tjozongoro further emphasised that a clean town serves as an attractive destination for potential investors.
"I don't want a clean-up campaign to be done occasionally; it should be done on a daily basis so that we can keep our town clean not only in Gobabis but the whole of Namibia, and this should also start from home. We are trying to put all around dustbins, and seeing a person throwing something, just remind him or her we have dustbins that are more about the day."
The clean-up campaign concluded with several tree-planting sessions.