Mamelodi Local and Long-Distance Taxi Association (MALLDTA) chairperson Stemmer Monageng is on a mission to serve the community of Mamelodi in various ways.
Earlier this year Monageng and MALLDTA in cooperation with local taxi association MATA, successfully managed to fix dilapidated roads in the Far East of Mamelodi from their own coffers.
The fixed roads, which are MALLDTA’s and MATA taxi routes, do not only benefit the association’s taxi drivers but also benefit motorists in general and the community at large because pedestrians could also not use the damaged roads as they were impassible.
On Friday Monageng and MALLDTA embarked upon a mission to clean the filthy areas in and around the Eastlyyn to Denneboom Taxi rank.
The clean-up initiative is called Operation clean up Kasi.
“We have launched the cleaning campaign because the filthy environment in and around the Denneboom area poses a health hazard to our commuters,” said Monageng.
“We have noticed that due to poor planning in building the taxi rank, commuters are forced to urinate anywhere and this makes the taxi rank to be stinky and this is something that we will have to address,” he said.
“Operation clean up Kasi does not belong to MALLDTA only but belongs to the community as well and we therefore urge the community to come on board and work together with us in this regard,” he said.
“We want to make the environment at the taxi rank one that is clean and conducive to good health as we have commuters with various chronic diseases and for them to inhale the awful smell at the taxi rank will make them sick once they reach home,” explained Monageng.
He said as MALLDTA they can only do so much because there are areas which clearly need the City of Tshwane’s direct intervention in keeping the environment clean.
He mentioned areas like East Lynn, and Denneboom which look like abandoned places where there are no people living or working there and pointed out that cleaning such areas would require trucks and other sophisticated instruments which MALLDTA doesn’t have but are at the disposal of the municipality.
He revealed that he has contacted the municipality regarding the role it can play in the clean-up campaign with the hope that it will come on board.
“Just as we helped out with money from our own coffers in fixing the roads in the Far East of Mamelodi, I think MALLDTA will again have to fig deep down it’s pocket to make sure that the environment is clean,” he said.
“Government we need you, come on board, assist us and let’s make our township look like a city,” he said.
He explained that initially the plan for Operation cleans up Kasi was to focus only on taxi ranks but realised that for the sake of justice and fairness the whole area surrounding the Mamelodi Regional Mall taxi rank also deserved to be cleaned up as it was filthy beyond imagination.
Monageng also expressed disappointment about the fact that there are still some flood victims living in churches around the community because he thought they had been relocated to permanent places of abode.
“The taxi industry is here to help and so I am appealing to the MMC for Human Settlements to join hands with us in solving the plight of the flood victims because we must forget our differences as municipality or as business and work together for the good of the flood victims,” said Monageng.
“In as much as we would like to help, we don’t have land to which we can relocate the victims, but as the taxi industry we say to the relevant MECs and MMCs that please come on board in this regard, our doors are open,” he said.
“I’m happy to see the taxi association getting their hands dirty and clean the taxi rank and this show they cate about our health hazard as people who use the rank every day,” said commuter Aubrey Shabangu.
“Wow when I saw the MALLDTA association members joined by chairman I was encouraged and happy that chairman is willing to get his hands dirty for his community and commuters and keep up chairman and all the members,” Kedibone Masechabane.
“This is the first time I saw a chairman of the taxi industry getting his hands dirty and clean and not sitting around, we salute him, and we will pray for him and his association to continue doing good things,” Kgomotso Masotla.
Monageng also revealed that MALLDTA launched another community-oriented campaign called ” Let’s Help Our Widowed” on Mandela Day 18 July this year.
“Through this campaign we have managed to give blankets and groceries to the widows of our former members who have since passed on,” said Monageng.
“My appeal to the taxi industry is that we must bring the community close to us and show that we are also part of the residents as we are fathers, brothers and sisters to them and must work together at all times,” said Monageng.
One of the widowed who received donations from Monageng and MALLDTA, Kgabo Tloubatla of Section SNS in Mamelodi East said the following: “We are thankful to have a chairperson like Stemmer Monageng because it is for the first time they we see such a caring chairperson of the organisaton who takes care of us widows who are poor and we are happy that he had donated food and blankets to us and that he is always ready to help us in running our taxi businesses by calling us to information-sharing meetings.”
Another widowed, Shirley Moabelo expressed joy that Stemmer Monageng is like a father to all the widows whose husbands were MALLDTA members.
“Whenever we complain about one thing or another Monageng is always there for us and may God bless him and give him the courage to always help us as widows,” said Moabelo.