Party marred by littering of streets
Waking up to their pavements and streets covered in beer bottles and cans was not what Bardene residents had in mind for starting the day on Sunday morning, October 5.
The Advertiser received dozen of complaints from residents who voiced their concerns about the litter left behind, allegedly by the party revellers, who were part of the estimated 14 000 festival-goers, who flocked to the Ekurhuleni Spring Fiesta on Saturday.
Following the string of complaints, the Spring Fiesta organisers, Soul Candi and its partner Ekurhuleni municipality, say they understand the frustration and disappointment experienced by the community due to the streets left in an extreme mess.
“The cleanliness of not only the venue, but that of the surrounding area as well, is always a priority,” says metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
“We had three teams allocated to clean the area after the event – the first starting at midnight (the night of the event), the second starting at 7am on Sunday, and the third managing the final sweep from 8pm on Sunday.
“This strategy ensures that come Monday morning, all the litter is cleared and the tidiness is restored.”
Spring Fiesta organisers and also the metro asks that the community try to understand that catering to 14 000 patrons would obviously result in some sort of inconvenience.
“It is always of utmost importance that we work hard to restore order after the event – although this does take a day,” says Gadebe.
“For next year’s and future events, we will aim to increase the size of the cleaning staff, supply more bins for litter outside of the venue, and create awareness of these bins among our patrons.”
The fiesta organiser says it has always been their intention to work closely with the Ekurhuleni and its residents to ensure the happiness of everyone affected.
Neither the metro or the organisers received reports of damage to private property, but assistance would be provided if such a matter is brought to their attention. – @FanieBoksburg
It is all fair and well that the had 14 000 people there. I can understand litter if not enough bins provided however the streets for block surrounding the event had broken bottles in the roads. We do not live in a dump and if the people that come to these events act like bums they need not have this event in Boksburg again have it at their local Dump!!!!!!