Press Release
Showcasing winners at 2017 Greenest Municipality Competition
“Tonight we celebrate the constant hard work which makes our towns function, we celebrate the passion of officials who carry out work against challenging odds, and we celebrate the spirit of cooperation and the efforts to use our resources wisely for the benefit of all our citizens.” – Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.
The 2017 greenest Local Municipality in the Western Cape is Swartland Municipality.
Eden District Municipality has been announced as the greenest District Municipality in the Province for the second time in a row.
This was the outcome of the 7th annual Greenest Municipality competition, held on Monday, 27 November 2017. The awards recognise local and district municipalities in the Western Cape for their innovation in addressing environmental challenges in their regions.
The awards ceremony was hosted by the Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell.
Bredell said that Municipalities are central to the success of any initiative that seeks to address the challenges of climate change and resource inefficiencies.
“Our budget priorities and our local infrastructure plans can work both ways - either preparing for us for natural disasters such as the drought, or exposing us to risk. We are heartened by the many worthwhile initiatives across the province, such as water tanks to harvest our rainfall, the clearing of alien vegetation from our catchment areas, and the diversification of our water supply sources,” said Bredell.
Premier Helen Zille attended the event to pay honour to all the participants: “The current drought is a catalyst for the whole-of-society to re-focus our attention on our relationship with precious resources. Municipalities are critical to driving the behavioural change required for sustainable development, because they are at the coal face of service delivery”.
“We require the same innovative response to the water crisis that was evident following the 2008 Energy crisis. South Africa is now the world’s leading Green Economy with over 70% of production taking place in the Western Cape. We must emerge from the water crisis with the same degree of innovation from both government and the private sector. I commend the municipalities who are actively working to make this a reality,” said Premier Zille.
This year the main category winners were:
Local Municipalities
- Winner: Swartland Municipality (Prize Money: R 130 000)
- 2nd Place: Overstrand Municipality (Prize Money: R 70 000)
- 3rd Place: Hessequa Municipality (Prize Money: R 50 000)
Caption: Winner: Swartland Municipality
District Municipalities
- Winner: Eden District Municipality (Prize Money: R 130 000)
- 2nd Place: Overberg District Municipality (Prize Money: R 70 000)
- 3rd Place: West Coast District Municipality (Prize Money: R 50 000)
Elements that were evaluated for the Greenest Municipality Competition include waste management, climate change response, biodiversity management & beautification, coastal management, water management and conservation, air quality management & leadership, compliance Institutional Arrangements and public participation.
ENDS.
Media Enquiries:
James-Brent Styan
Spokesperson for the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell
Mobile: 084 583 1670
Telephone: 021 483 2820