Greater Kokstad Municipality has been named the greenest and cleanest municipality for 2015/16 in the recently renamed Harry Gwala district of KwaZulu-Natal.
In recognition of this, the municipality was presented with a cheque for R50,000 and a trophy at the Greenest Municipality Competition awards presentation, which took place at the Peace Initiative Hall in Ixopo in January.
Mluleki Ndobe, mayor of Harry Gwala District, previously known as Sisonke District Municipality, said: “Right now we are experiencing a terrible drought due to climate change and global warming.
A few decades ago, when authorities spoke about preserving the environment, and saying that South Africa was a dry country with even less water resources, it was like a mystery and we didn’t understand it.
“Today we have learnt the hard way. It is as a result of our actions that we are experiencing all these changes.”
Runners up were Umzimkhulu Municipality in second place and Ubuhlebezwe Municipality in third, winning R30,000 and R20,000 respectively.
The awards are part of an initiative to encourage towns and municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal to build parks and plant more trees.
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