Collins Chabane Municipality to prioritize the importance of the young people

Young people are important to the Collins Chabane Local Municipality, said mayor Joyce Bila during the State of the Municipality Address held at the Malamulele Boxing Gym last Thursday.

“Young people must enjoy all the rights, responsibilities and obligations as normal citizens of South Africa as contained in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. We have resolved to focus on education through the Mayoral Bursary Fund. For this we have budgeted R500 000 which will cover all expenses including tuitions, meals, accommodation and books for all successful applicants from the 2019 academic year,” she added.

Bila encouraged young people to be more innovative and create opportunities for themselves and create employment opportunities for others. “Within the municipal structure, we are training 13 youths on a Work Integrated Learning Programme, commonly known as In-service Training. We have other peripheral partners who are transferring skills to 105 youths on horticulture; construction and building; plumbing; dress making and driving,” she said.

The mayor said that the municipality was able to partially complete its first capital projects, namely the Xikundu Ring Road and Xitlhelani Internal Streets. She said the contractors are completing the last bits of work before the projects can officially be handed over to community members.

The Saselamani Sports Facility is also at 96%, with contractors currently on penalties while they attend to the last issues. “We believe that not only does sports provide the benefit of physical activity, but it is very crucial in terms of mental growth and alertness. Sport develops a sense of friendliness for both the young and old. It develops team spirit, emotional toughness and reduces stress,” she said.

Other capital projects that are currently under construction are the refurbishment of the Malamulele Civic Centre which is at 27%, Malamulele Section B internal streets at 78% and Malamulele Section D internal street which is currently at 22%.

Bila said infrastructure development remains one of the key job drivers in the country, and as such, they are happy to commit to several new projects in the 2018/2019 financial year. The projects include the widening of the DCO to hospital road, the construction of a land-fill site at Xigalo, the upgrading of the Malamulele Stadium and the construction of the Mtsetweni and Nwamatatani ring-roads. She indicated that these and other projects will serve as vehicles of skills transfer, improved employment opportunities and create a sense of ownership for communities.

On issues of electricity it was reported that 1116 households were electrified during the 2017/18 financial year at Mavambe, Mavandla and Makumeke Villages. “We have budgeted R20 million from an INEP grant for the electrification of Xigalo, Menele, Nghezimani and Nghomunghomu villages for the 2018/2019 financial year. Those who qualify will also get free basic electricity,” she said.

The Collins Chabane municipality also unveiled a plan to modernise the trading markets to benefit small, medium and micro-sized enterprises. “We have set aside a budget of R5 million for the relocation and construction of stalls in both Malamulele and Hlanganani to cater for the hawkers ... This will also extend to areas of Saselamani and Vuwani as we continue forward with our development program,” she said.

“We will establish community and village markets with nonfinancial and financial means, as a way of ensuring food security while improving household and community income. We have set aside R1 million which will cater for the establishment and support of cooperatives for the 2018/2019 financial year,” Bila said.

The municipality is also going to meet with hawkers of the Malamulele area to discuss developmental issues such as the transformation and modernization of the township. After these discussions, they will meet with hawkers from Hlanganani, Saselamani and Vuwani.

On water and sanitation, the municipality will continue to work with the District Municipality and other government authorities to find long term solutions to the household and bulk water supply and sanitation challenges in the municipal area.

On housing, the mayor said that they have received an allocation of 800 houses from the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs for the 2017/2018 financial year. “For the 2018/2019 financial year, the department allocated Collins Chabane Municipality a total of 600 units,” she added.

The total projected revenue for 2018/2019 is R468,61 million which comprises operating revenue of R368,26 million and capital revenue of R100,35 million.

News - Date: 10 June 2018

Mbulaheni Ridovhona

The 22-year-old Mbulaheni (Gary) Ridovhona has been passionate about journalism to the extent that he would buy himself a copy of weekly Univen students' newsletter, Our Voice. After reading, he would write stories about his rural village, Mamvuka, and submit them to the very newsletter for publication. His deep-rooted love for words and writing saw him register for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at the University of Venda, and joined the Limpopo Mirror team in February 2016 as a journalism intern.

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