Johannesburg - The Anglican Church in Johannesburg has lashed out at the City of Joburg for failing to keep the inner-city clean.
The church has accused the municipality of making the worship experience in the city a traumatic one.
For years, the Anglican Church has appealed to the municipality to ensure that the area around the Cathedral Of St Mary the Virgin, near the Wanderers Street precinct, is clean, but it appeared that after a number of mayors, the situation has remained the same.
The matter was made glaringly worse on Sunday as church members tried to embark on a Palm Sunday procession outside the church and were greeted by piles of rubbish and a gagging stench outside of the cathedral.
This prompted Bishop Steve Moerane to use his Palm Sunday to appeal to the
City of Joburg to ensure that the inner-city was safe and clean to live and worship in.
The Star understands that church members could not have a full procession around the church area because there was trash all over.
The church posted a letter on their social media pages, appealing for the
City of Joburg to keep to a commitment that was made at the time of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to turn the church precinct into a respectable area, in honour of the work that Tutu and the cathedral contributed to the freedom of the country.
“Members of the community and representatives of the Cathedral Church, situated in the heart of the Johannesburg CBD on Wanderers Street, we would like to draw your attention to the state of the surrounding pavements that are under your jurisdiction.
“We are concerned about the environmental responsibility that you have been entrusted with, especially regarding the cleanliness and purity of the pavements surrounding the church,” the church said.
It complained that the pavements surrounding the church were dirty. There was also an influx of street vendors, who would often leave boxes and tools used in their trade on the side of the road.
“Furthermore, we would like to draw your attention to the political and social ramifications of allowing slum areas and street vendors to operate in the vicinity of the church.
“These activities not only create discord for the worshippers, but also pose a health risk, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“They also create a negative image of our community and city, which can have an adverse impact on tourism and economic growth,” the letter said.
City of Joburg mayor Thapelo Amad said the municipality was giving urgent attention to environmental health issues in the Johannesburg CBD.
“The City of Joburg is a caring city. As the government, we are passionate about the cleanliness of the city, and we want to make the city a liveable space, a safe space, and a space where people should feel free,” Amad said.
He said that the church should become part of the solution to the problems in the city, adding that the municipality would engage the church to ensure that the matter was resolved.
The Star