Spandex isn’t going to solve anything

I ONCE heard about a small town in Europe where the residents became fed up with all of the pollution, litter, and illegal dumping.

One of the residents suggested, “You guys know what? We need Captain Planet!”

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a superhero-looking dude in spandex shows up and says, “Did someone summon me?”

The townspeople rejoice and cheer for their new saviour, who proceeds to gather everyone together as he puts together a basic strategy to fight the pollution problem.

As soon as he’s outlined the plans, he stands up and announces, “OK, everyone, have fun, I’m outta here.”

The confused townspeople try to stop him, protesting, “Wait, when do you start doing all this?”

The super dude responds, “Me? I don't do anything. You called for Captain Plan-it … that’s me. See ya!”

Now, while you’re groaning, I want to mention that one of my friends recently recommended that I drive by Kimberley's Oppenheimer Gardens. When I told him that I wasn’t too keen, seeing as it had looked like a dumpsite the last time I was there, he insisted.

Imagine my surprise when I saw, with my own bespectacled eyes, how neat that little corner of Kimberley looked. The area has been fenced off, tidied up, replanted and landscaped, and is in a pretty amazing condition considering what it was just a few years ago, back when those careless bronze miners “donated” their sieve to some black market metal merchants.

However, on my way home that same day, I noticed Queens Park was strewn with litter, despite the fact that municipal workers tidy up the place constantly. I thought to myself, “How is it that the only places that are kept in good nick in our city are the places that keep a certain section of the population out?”

Please don’t read “a certain section of the population” with any preconceived prejudices. All I am saying is that there are people who consider littering, public urination and acts of vandalism a worthwhile hobby. And whenever these folk are denied access to certain areas, the areas stay shipshape.

But I am just sharing what many people are saying. In fact, in a recent report, Sol Plaatje Municipality Speaker Dipuo Peters said something very similar when, speaking about the city’s condition ahead of the Diamond and Dorings Kimberley Big Hole Marathon, suggested that it was necessary for residents in the city to inculcate a culture of cleanliness.

“Every time an area is cleaned up, people see it as an opportunity to dump and litter and deliberately make the city dirty,” Peters said.

Of course, because I am sensitive to it, I often notice when people dump litter out of vehicles or casually discard wrappers as they walk along the street. I would love to know how many Kimberley residents feel free to litter or urinate any and everywhere, compared to those who discard trash in bins and use public restrooms.

I mean, seriously, how is it possible to keep a city clean if the mindset of its people is a mess?

In the end, I’m just saying that it must be pretty demoralising for municipal workers to pitch up for work week in and week out to gather strewn litter everywhere in a city that too often smells like a urinal.

Anyway, let’s face it. No one in spandex is going to clean our city for us, and as we learned earlier, superheroes can disappoint us. The solution may lie in gradually shaping our society so that, over time, they can start to value cleanliness and hygiene.

Henry Gantt puts it so well: “We cannot drive people,” he says, “we must direct their development”.