Alvine Kapitako
Windhoek-Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology Stanley Simataa has urged Namibians to embrace a culture of cleanliness without being regulated.
“Those of you who travel all over Namibia will not like to see the pollution that you and I are contributing and the damage that we are doing to our environment,” Simataa remarked.
He was speaking at last week’s media briefing where he announced that Cabinet had approved the National Solid Waste Management Strategy to strengthen the institutional, organisational and legal framework for solid waste management, including capacity building.
“I don’t know why as a nation we like to be legislated upon, even in terms of behaviour and conduct,” he said with reference to the culture of littering. Instead of discarding rubbish through the car window while driving, he urged motorists to wait for the nearest stop with disposal faciltities to discard their waste.
“Why should you open your car window after enjoying and there is a flying bomb of wastage coming out of your window. Really? Do you need us as parliamentarians to legislate you for that?” Simataa asked.
He said habits of cleanliness should be instilled from an early age and noted that some discarded waste, such as glossy paper and plastics, are not bio-degradable and during dry seasons, such garbage lying around translates into major stock losses for farmers.
“Animals look at anything and they graze. We need to embrace this culture and attitude of doing things without being legislated,” Simataa emphasised.
Simataa said the National Solid Waste Management Strategy to improve solid waste management strategy was submitted by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. “This strategy was duly considered and approved by Cabinet with a view to strengthen the institutional, organisational and legal framework for solid waste management,” he said.