The Beit Bridge Town Council has purchased 100 litter bins for the ongoing clean-up campaign ahead of next month’s Fifa World Cup in South Africa. The council’s environmental health officer, Mr Pio Muchena, said the newly acquired litter bins would be placed at various strategic points around the border town. “We bought the bins under our solid waste management programme and we intend to label them before mounting them in various strategic areas, such as the Beit Bridge border post, Dulibadzimu Bus Terminus and the shopping centres,” he said. “Council´s aim is to ensure that our environment is kept clean, particularly in light of an influx of visitors and travellers who will pass through our town for the soccer World Cup in South Africa. We also urge our travellers and local residents to utilize these facilities.” Muchena said the council had since purchase another refuse-collection tractor. “We have bought a refuse-collection tractor and the supplier will soon deliver it. We hope this will speed up service delivery in the area of refuse collection as we presently rely on one ageing tractor, which constantly breaks down,” he said. The council has also partnered with World Vision in another clean-up campaign under the water, sanitation and hygienic (Wash) programme. “We have also partnered with World Vision, in that we are targeting all the six urban wards in the area of solid waste management. We have, through the assistance of local churches and councillors, managed to identify 240 beneficiaries who are now assisting us in cleaning our storm water drainage systems as well as unblocking sewer pipes and cleaning up the town,” he said. The programme, code-named Food-for-Asset (FFA), was launched early last month. “This is a two-month programme aimed at enhancing and improving the town’s health standards and hygienic conditions, so that we prevent diseases such as cholera. We have tasked our councillors to help in supervising and monitoring the exercise in their respective wards,” Muchena said. World Vision has supplied the beneficiaries with protective clothes such as dust masks, gumboots and gloves, while the local authority provides material and technical support. The council has since constructed six central waste collection points in an effort to reduce illegal litter dumping in public undesignated areas. Muchena urged residents to utilize the facilities, which have been situated in strategic areas of Dulibadzimu suburb, from which council collects the garbage three times a week.