Drakenstein municipality has won this year’s competition for the greenest local municipality in the province for “consistently trailblazing smart sustainable practices”.
The winners of the 2019 competition were announced at an awards ceremony hosted by the Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell on Tuesday evening.
Swartland municipality came in as the runner up with Mossel Bay third in the annual competition.
Drakenstein municipality won R260000, Swartland won R140000 and Mossel Bay R100000.
Mayor of Drakenstein municipality Conrad Poole said they were overjoyed and incredibly honoured to receive the award. He said this win highlights their quest to grow Drakenstein’s economy in a sustainable and innovative way and to ensure that their social practices remain.
The proud mayor went on to say because Drakenstein is so pristine and naturally beautiful, it is regarded the goose that lays the golden eggs, and should therefore be protected. He added that this required a fine balancing act between the drive to develop on the one hand, and the need to maintain and protect natural heritage on the other.
Poole said the community of Drakenstein can have confidence that through an independent evaluation and auditing process, their Municipality’s environmental practices have been scrutinised and have been found to be the best in the Western Cape.
Bredell said the competition was aimed at motivating and inspiring municipalities to address environmental issues.
According to Brendell municipalities play a critical role in the country’s collective response to the challenges posed by climate change and if the towns aren’t more efficient or aren’t better prepared for the challenges, then the economic growth needed would be impossible.
More: Cape Argus