MASAKHANE IS HAPPENING!

Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

1 September 1997

CLEANING, GREENING AND CRIME AGAINST TOURISTS PROGRAMMES HIGH ON THE MASAKHANE AGENDA

MASAKHANE is about sustainable development, peoples' participation in governance and nation building. The Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism will be involved in many activities and programmes during the MASAKHANE Focus Week, to draw attention to the role being played by the Ministry in achieving the goals of MASAKHANE.

As the MASAKHANE Focus Week coincides with ARBOR Week, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have organised various cleaning and greening programmes throughout the country. A flower leaflet on litter and recycling will also be launched, and distributed widely to the public and to schools throughout the country.

The high levels of uncontrolled waste and litter in our society places an enormous strain on our economy, wreaks havoc on the environment and has a negative effect on people's health. The poorest communities experience the greatest impact of litter and waste problems. Rapid urbanisation and poverty have led to the complete eradication of vegitation in townships and informal settlements.

During MASAKHANE Focus Week (1-7 September), the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEA&T) will be working closely with communities, schools, conservation groups and local and provincial authorities, to clean up neighbourhoods, develop garden parks and plant hundreds of indigenous trees around the country.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DEA&T PROGRAMME:

• Minister Pallo Jordan will be participating in a presentation on 2 September, by 20 students from Alexander Sinton High School to Parliament, on "The Effects of Rapid Urbanisation on the Environment". Alexander Sinton, a school in Athlone, Western Cape, is part of the 21st Century Schoolhouse project and will be representing the continent of Africa at an International Youth Environmental Summit in Salem, Oregon, USA. The participants at this summit will present a Declaration of Environmental Rights and Responsibilities to the United Nations and their respective governments around the world. The media are invited to attend the presentation:

DATE: 2 September 1997 TIME: 12h00 to 13h30 VENUE: Large Auditorium, Parliament, Cape Town

• Deputy Minister Peter Mokaba will launch the flower leaflet on litter and recycling and participate in planting trees at Soshanguve, Gauteng, on 1 September. The media are invited to attend these activities:

TIME: 10H00 VENUE: Technikon Northern Gauteng (main entrance) RSVP: Elizabeth Mnisi, Ph: (012) 310 3434/082 655 4746

• The "RACE AGAINST CRIME" campaign will be launched on 4 September in conjunction with the Tourism Safety Task Group and the Alexandra Council. Two men from Alexandra will be demonstrating their commitment to ending crime against tourists by walking throughout South Africa to spread the message. The programme will begin at 10h00. The media are invited to attend. For more information on the "RACE AGAINST CRIME" campaign contact Jay Singh, Ph: (012) 310 3552/082 654 4699.

Programme outlining further DEA&T activities is available on request from the numbers below.

For further information please contact: Cassandra Gabriel, Public Relations Officer - (021) 457 240/082 573 4168 Elizabeth Mnisi, Communications - (012) 310 3434/082 655 4746