Photo by [GroundUp]
In a society that places great importance on community, the people of South Africa are encouraged to acknowledge and embrace their responsibility for maintaining and ensuring the environmental health of their neighbourhoods. This call to action underscores the crucial role individuals play in fostering a cohesive environment, as active citizenship is fundamental to the success and prosperity of the nation.
Nevertheless, Mohammed Ismail from eThekwini Secure has observed a troubling degree of indifference and apathy among South Africans towards the well-being of their communities.
This lack of action or interest can have severe repercussions, including the neglect of public spaces, deterioration of infrastructure, and creation of an environment conducive to criminal activities.
“What I have found over the years is that people always say “can somebody do this? Can you report this problem, and can you do that?” Why can’t you do it yourself? … When ratepayers come together, they start doing what they have to do and having community meetings. But then again, there’s a lot of apathy on behalf of residents who just don’t care. That mindset needs to change because our communities are degenerating at an alarming rate.”
Markers of Apathy in Communities
The decrease in community engagement is evident through the deterioration of essential amenities like parks, roads, and public facilities. This deterioration leads to an unsightly environment and hampers the overall quality of life, restricts development, and stifles economic growth.
A significant problem highlighting the lack of community concern is the increase of illegal dumpsites and litter found on sidewalks, drainage systems, and open fields. While inadequate service delivery partly contributes to this issue, apathy among individuals worsens the present situation.
“If you look at a small area, for example, you find it almost on every street corner, there’s dumping … Businesses need to take responsibility in terms of how they dispose of their refuse, and residents need to take responsibility for how they dispose of their refuse.”
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How Can These Challenges be Resolved?
According to Ismail, local businesses, residents, and passersby must be more mindful of their waste disposal practices. Furthermore, communities should proactively adopt measures such as recycling programs, clean-up campaigns, and regular awareness workshops.
These initiatives aim to educate people about the causes and consequences of pollution, with the ultimate goal of cleaning and preserving a healthy and secure communal environment.
“There has to be structured programs in the community, to have perhaps a dump yard and to have a recycling program where people take these matters seriously … What we are doing is a holistic approach where we’re going to start from within the homes. To inculcate ourselves and enable ourselves and our children to make them understand the responsibilities of having a healthy environment and clean streets and corners. Because we walk these streets, drive through these streets, and it’s unsightly and absolutely horrible. That needs to be corrected.”
