Eastern Cape's Kirkwood cleans up — community members unite in fight to reclaim their town

Daily Maverick

3 days ago

Earlier this year, the Sundays River Municipality was mentioned by the Auditor-General as one of the worst in the country — due to a dismal performance report, six years of disclaimed audit opinions, and environmental pollution caused by poor wastewater treatment works and unmanaged landfill sites that were actively harming residents. But then displaying true South African spirit, residents, businesses and farmers decided that this was not how their story ended.
Last week Cornelius Korkie, the editor of Kirkwood's local newspaper, Die Lemoentjie (The Little Orange), looked at his town and sighed. The annual Wildsfees, a huge three-day event injecting R60-million into the province, was a mere seven days away.
Church Street was a mess, especially over weekends, as was Main Road. Everywhere in town there was rubbish, 'or other shenanigans,' he wrote in an editorial. 'People are worried,' he added.
'It really wasn't that clean,' he said on Thursday. 'The streets had to be cleaned, as did the water canals. There were lots of empty bottles lying around. The train tracks were in a state. There were potholes.'
And to top it all off, he said the dustbins had disappeared.
So, he called on the community to start cleaning and almost everyone joined in – young, old, municipal workers, businesses, farmers and artists.
'The whole community bought into it. Everybody was happy. Some businesses in Kirkwood (officially Nqweba) went out of their way. One offered to clean the entire railway line that was in a horrible state. It was overgrown and full of litter. They said they would clean it and by Saturday afternoon it was clean. It was truly brilliant to see how everybody operated,' he said.
'The farmer said we will bring you new rubbish bins. The artists repainted them. They are colourful and really brightening up the town. I am feeling very happy. It is so beautiful,' he said.
Korkie said his next project was to clean the areas around the town, but they would continue with a town cleanup every month. 'We are going to keep going until we can say this town is now in tip-top shape.'
'Then we can relax, but even that will be dangerous – I think there will have to be ongoing education,' he added.
Karen Smith, the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Community Services and Public Safety in the Sundays River Valley Municipality, said the municipality had joined in, and assisted with labour and rubbish trucks. Workers also fixed the potholes.
'They also stepped in big time. The people from the community decided that the municipality cannot do everything alone,' she said.
'We have a very active community and everybody knows each other.'
She said it was her job to get the municipality on board, but they had agreed to help within a day.
'The municipal workers even stayed on after their shift had ended to help clean every part of town,' she said. The municipality had also fixed the streetlights and the potholes.
'The town is sparkling,' she said. 'And on Saturday we didn't hear any complaints.'
Smith said guest accommodation in Kirkwood was fully booked for the Wildsfees and it is a source of great income for the town – both through the letting of guest accommodation and as many casual workers are needed at the festival.
'The Wildsfees brings up to R60-million to the Eastern Cape,' she said.
As the Wildsfees is also a nonprofit organisation (NGO), money is injected back into the community.
Spokesperson for the Wildsfees Ed Richardson said: 'The Wildsfees is truly a community project. It is owned and run by a nonprofit, community-owned with all surplus going into Sundays River Valley community projects.
'This year, the community stepped up like never before when the venue had to be moved. Local businesses stepped up to help the Wildsfees team transform a patch of grass-covered land into a festival village in record time. They have donated their time, their equipment and their labour.
'This spirit flowed into the whole community. The Spar Kirkwood Wildsfees salutes the residents of our town from all communities and demographics for taking to the streets – with brooms, shovels, paint brushes and spades to ensure we are looking our best for the visitors to the 22nd annual Spar Kirkwood Wildsfees.
'NGOs and sports clubs, which have benefitted from the Wildsfees in the past, are also giving their time and energy for free,' Richardson added. DM