Thousands of residents from Helenvale have applauded the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s efforts in improving service delivery in the area following Executive Mayor Gary van Niekerk’s pronouncement to dedicate October to project Helenvale. On Friday, 11 October 2024, the Mayor led a service delivery blitz in the area where a major cleanup programme and planting was conducted by the Metro in partnership with residents.
Resident Caitlyn Rademeyer said residents were hopeful and excited to see a holistic approach adopted in dealing with Helenvale’s challenges. “I am very happy to see they are cleaning Stanford Road. It’s good to see people coming to clean as it has been very dirty. It will now also look more beautiful. That’s how I feel,” she said.
Another resident Santago Mutu added: “I feel it is a very good idea that people came to clean as the rubbish has been everywhere. It is better that the people came to clean as it helps to keep diseases away. It is a very nice thing they did as it will now look better.”
The Mayor has commended the community involvement in the project and said the Metro was also committed to address the issue of high unemployment in the area by employing local residents where possible.
“We are in Helenvale and we are standing on this hill that has been an eyesore for many years and that has always bothered me. This is not the first time we are attempting this clean up and just because we were not successful previously, it doesn’t mean we have to give up. Earlier this month we decided that we are going to make Helenvale our project with the limited resources available to the Municipality, during this month. The Municipality does not have the resources to do all the areas, all at once so we decided to focus on Helenvale because it faces the most challenges. In order to have a clean Helenvale you need a clean Helenvale and we are here on a daily basis and it’s all about laying the foundation for now.”
“We have residents taking up the initiative to clean around where they live and we have committed to assist them, our workers are cleaning and we are hoping that by Monday this hill will be clean. We are planting some beautiful plants but we need the communities to buy into this idea that we can clean up Helenvale and there is hope and proof that if we all do our little bit we can get it done,” the Mayor said.
Residents have pledged to look after workers to ensure they are safe as they continue to work in the area.
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