For Musanda Vho-Mapheka Alpheus Netshiphale, the traditional leader of Tshiphale village outside Musina, getting government services established was not easy, as his village is still relatively new. Only a handful of people have moved into their new homes so far, but thanks to the swift response of Musina Municipality, things are starting to happen at the village.

Netshiphale invited the leadership of the municipality to pay them a visit on Sunday, 9 January this year, so that he could formally introduce his new village and share the challenges that his villagers still experience daily. One of the major concerns he presented to Musina Mayor Nkhanedzeni Godfrey Mawela and his executives was the absence of internal streets at the village.

Mawela undertook to make this, as well as the other concerns laid out, a priority and, true to his word, just a week later, the Tshiphale community saw graders blading internal streets for the first time in the short history of the village.

Musanda Vho-Netshiphale did not have enough words to express his gratitude when Mayor Mawela visited the village to monitor the progress on his promises. “I have never experienced such a quick and positive response from government in my life. What we know is that it usually takes months, if not years, for government leaders to respond to the plea of the ordinary people. With just two months in office, our new leaders have already put everlasting smiles on our faces.  We whole-heartedly thank the new mayor of Musina and his team for displaying such dedication in their work. There is no doubt that this team of councillors will take Musina to a higher level.”

Netshiphale’s sentiments were echoed by local villager Ms Maria Nyambeni. “It was difficult to move around our new village because there were no internal streets at all. Now that the streets are bladed, emergency vehicles like ambulances and police vans will have easy access to the village. This is what we call real service delivery, not only lip service as we used to receive from government.”

Mawela said the core business of the municipality in his five-year term was to deliver efficient services to the people of Musina. “We will continue to work with various stakeholders to make Musina a better place to stay for everyone.”