Take a walk round many of our neighbourhoods today and you’ll be greeted not by green, clean parks but piles of rubbish, broken play equipment and vandalised walls. The image is not just an eyesore; it is a clear reflection of a deeper, more troubling issue: our mindset.
It has become fashionable to blame local government for the state of our communities. We say the municipality doesn’t care. We shout about poverty and lack of services.
Yet, while there are certainly failures at the government level, we must face an uncomfortable truth: we are the ones throwing the rubbish on the ground. We are the ones who know exactly who is dumping illegally on open fields and yet choose to stay silent. We are the ones letting our children destroy play equipment built for them, or scribble on walls instead of using their school books.
When the government invests in building parks, installing benches or putting up new play structures, how long do they last?
Often, only a few weeks before they are defaced or broken.
Who is to blame then? Are those same officials supposed to stand guard 24/7 to protect our own community spaces from us?
This is not a resource problem; it is a mental one. It is about how we think, how we value what is given to us, and how we teach the next generation. Children need to learn from an early age that walls are not for writing; that’s what books are for. They need to be taught to hold on to rubbish until they find a bin, and to take pride in a clean environment.
But how can we expect children to learn these basic lessons when adults themselves do not understand them?
We live among adults with immature mindsets who refuse to take responsibility for their actions. They are quick to complain but slow to clean up after themselves. They want more; more facilities, more services, more attention, but cannot even maintain what they already have.
If you cannot take care of what you have been given, why should more be given to you? Respect for your environment starts at home, in small everyday actions; pick up your litter, discourage illegal dumping, report those who vandalise and set an example for your children. It’s time we stopped pointing fingers at the government and start taking ownership of our neighbourhoods.
It’s time to change our mindset, to understand that community pride doesn’t come from what is built for us, but how we protect and nurture what we already have.
If you truly want a clean, safe and beautiful community the first step is not to blame; it’s to act.
AB Skermand
Vredenburg
