Lephalale Municipality

Special Edition Newsletter

In commemoration of the birthday celebration of the Honourable Mayor of Lephalale, Cllr M J Maeko 17 May 2016

Lephalale Municipality Quarterly newspaper January – May 2016 Deputy President taking up the fight against TB National World TB day event held in Lephalale

Deputy president, who is also chairperson of the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), accompanied by a high profile delegation including government officials; TB ambassadors of the African Union and World Health Organisation, Health Minister, ; Limpopo Premier, Stan Mathabatha; Executive Mayors; Local Mayors and thousands of community members commemorated World TB Day at Marapong in Lephalale on the 22nd of March. The commemoration was part of a wider effort aimed at achieving goals and objectives set by the National TB programme (NTP) to mobilise communities and encourage them to adopt practices that minimise the risk of TB infection. According to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa the commemoration was done jointly with the African Union, demonstrating a shared responsibility to work together to end TB. Ramaphosa said while there is significant decline in TB infection across the country in all provinces, infections in Lephalale are increasing, especially in emerging informal settlements such as Marapong. Statistics indicates that in Lephalale TB/HIV co-infection stands at about 65%, compared to the national average of 55%. “We are here with our local and global partners because we are keen to prevent these public health challenges from worsening and to reverse them as rapidly as possible “he said. In addition the Deputy President also launched ’s first National TB Prevalence Survey which will be undertaken by the Department of Health supported by the South African Medical Research Council and the Human sciences Research Council. The research will be concluded within two years and will provide a true indication of the country’s TB burden.

National World TB Day Celebrated 11 Million rand Medical Centre for Marapong

The Deputy President was also given the honour of receiving the Marapong Community Health Centre on behalf of the community of Marapong. The eleven million rand Centre was acquired through the partnership between the Local Municipality, Mining Company, Exxaro and Eskom. The new clinic which is much larger than the old one will provide a full package of primary health services to the community of Marapong. The clinic should be in operation by August 2016 and will operate as a 24/7 health facility. In addition, Limpopo Premier, Stan Mathabatha welcomed the support from organisations such as the South African National Aids Council, USAID, World Health Organisation Above: Deputy President, Cyril and the AU. According to Mathabatha Ramaphosa received the more focus will be on young for them Marapong Community Health to take a lead in the fight against both Centre on behalf of the TB and HIV/AID and also tapping in community. to their energies and vibrancy to Left: Lephalale Mayor, Cllr M J make them “change agent”. We need Maeko hands over a special young people as change agents so gift to the Deputy President. that they can play an important role of The artist is France informing, educating and mobilising Molokomme other young people, adults, families and communities to do what is necessary to assist in ending the epidemics. Lephalale Mayor, Jack Maeko, expressed appreciation for efforts by the the Deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, National Health Minister, Aron Motsoaledi and all other stakeholders involved in the fight against TB and HIV/AIDS. Maeko said the role played by strategic partners such Exxaro and Eskom cannot go unnoticed. Through the two companies the 24 hour health facility which was opened by the deputy president will go a long way in addressing socio-economic challenges of communities.

Road reconstruction project gets a boost

Exxaro Grootegeluk coal and Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) awarded a tender to design the Ga- Seleka roads to Aurecon South Africa (Pty) Ltd on Thursday 21 January. This is a significant milestone in the multi-million rand project which will see the reconstruction of 47.6 kilometres of road to service 13 villages who struggle with transportation due to the derelict road conditions in the Lephalale area. The villages that will benefit from the upgraded Rietfontein Road ((D3102 and D3114) are Sefithlogo, Morwe, Botshabelo, Moong, Segale, Botsalanag, Kopanong, Kgobagodimo and Letlora. Ugrading of Road D3109 will benefit residents from Kiti, Motsweding, Dipompopong and Mokuruanyane. Delivering the keynote address at the signing ceremony, Mayor of Lephalale Local Municipality, Councillor Jack Maeko thanked RAL and Exxaro for their contribution to infrastructure development. “The government needs the private sector to act in the best interest of the community. Everything is possible as long as we work together. This road project will create many employment opportunities and alleviate poverty,” said Mayor Maeko. He commended the project team for engaging stakeholders throughout the process, he further urged the councillors and community leaders present at the ceremony to communicate the progress to their constituencies. Exxaro Group Manager for Community Development, Ramesh Chhagan said this is a demonstration of how Exxaro is powering possibilities. The road will allow free movement of people and lead to the creation of various economic opportunities. We remain committed to making a meaningful contribution to the Lephalale community to ensure that we leave this place in a much better condition than we found it.” RAL CEO, Petros Matji commended the project team for expediting the process to ensure there’s notable progress on the project. To ensure skills transfer and local SMME empowerment, Aurecon will work closely with Exxaro, Roads Agency Limpopo and Lephalale Local Municipality during the design phase. In addition, labour intensive methods will be utilised during construction and this will benefit the large number of unemployed community members, mainly youth from the 13 villages.

LLM hosts Matric awards ceremony

Lephalale Municipality hosted the annual Matric awards ceremony at the Mogol club on Friday, 15 January where top performing schools, teachers and learners were awarded for their commitment towards excellence in education. Top performing Schools in the Lephalale area were Ellisras High school with a pass rate of 91.73% and Tielelo High School with a pass rate of 88.41%. Schools who achieved a pass rate above 70% were Motlhajwa (79.17%), Seoketseng (77.50%), Morakolo (71.67%) The school that showed the most improvement was Motlhjwa High School who managed to attain an average of 79.17% compared to 41.18% in 2014. The learner who performed the best in the Ellisras Circuit was Alize Hoepfner (87.6%). In Palala North, it was Thapelo Motlokwa (in picture) who attained an average of 80.1%. In Palalala South, Baloyi Toki David came out tops with an average of 73.29%. The top five learners in the Cluster were Alize Hoepfner (87.6%), Sarel Haasbroek (87.3%), Kyla Strydom (85.9%), Maricia van Deventer (83.7%) and Thapelo Motlokwa (80.1%).

Lephalale Local Municipality (LLM) hosted the newly appointed Medupi project manager, Phillip Dukashe on Monday, 25 January 2016 in order to make formal introductions and share some of Council’s concerns and praises for the Medupi project. The Mayor of Lephalale, Cllr MJ Maeko welcomed Mr Dukashe and pledged the Municipality’s support for the project. The Mayor said that LLM is delighted to work with Mr. Dukashe who they believe understands the economic transformation agenda. He urged the new project manager to escalate Eskom’s commitment towards community development, skills development as well as transformation in organisational structures. Mr Dukashe said in his address that the Medupi team fully supports the Municipality’s mission in terms of rural development. “We want to leave a lasting legacy and we look forward to working with local government to achieve our goals of building the largest power station in Africa. We also share in the Municipality’s vision of building a vibrant city that will become the energy hub of Africa.” Eskom’s appointment of Mr Phillip Dukashe follows the resignation of Mr Roman Crookes earlier this year. Mr Dukashe, a civil engineer by profession, has been working for Eskom for 22 years at various managerial levels. From 2010 until now, he was General Manager for Generation Coal Projects, which included the major refurbishment of coal fired power stations such as return to service of the Komati, Camden and Grootvlei power stations; and the recovery of the Majuba silo and Duvha unit 3 projects. Between 2001 and 2005 he was a power station manager for Tutuka power station.

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Back to Basics:

New information Centre opened in Marapong

As part of back to basics campaign, Lephalale Mayor, Jack Maeko, officially opened an information centre in Marapong last week. The centre will assist amongst other things community members who used to travel long distances to submit their CV’s at the municipality for capturing on

the municipal data base. The municipality has taken the responsibility of ensuring that in all the economic developments around the area, local communities are prioritised when it comes to employment. Mayor Maeko urged companies to use the municipality as an entry point for recruitment.. During the launch, community members were given an opportunity to interact with

the Mayor and representatives from Medupi Power station and various issues were raised. The Mayor urged Eskom to use the information centre, local papers and radio station to inform communities about job opportunities. Two community liaison officers were appointed at the information centre. Maeko spoke strongly against corruption and appealed to job seekers to report any one who is found to be demanding money for jobs. The Back to Basics programme was launched by President in September 2014 and is aimed at strengthening the local sphere of government, improving service delivery and promoting economic growth and development at local level. Key to the programme is the effective functioning of municipalities to better serve communities by getting the balance right in terms of the

five pillars of Back to Basics. The pillars are: Putting People First (Batho Pele), Delivering

Basic Services, Governance, Sound Financial Management and Building Capabilities.

Back to Basics: RDP houses for families in need

As part of delivering services to needy communities, Lephalale Mayor,Cllr Jack Maeko, together with Chief P.D Seleka attended a sod turning ceremony for the construction of a RDP house for the Otsweleng family in Seleka on Friday, 29 January 2016. The Otsweleng family is one of three families identified for housing intervention by Communication Minister during the launch of the Imbizo Focus week in December 2015. Government, imbizos are aimed at promoting public participation on government programmes with the intention of continuously improving people’s lives. Throughout the launch week, Cabinet Ministers and government officials visited communities to assess their needs, interact with people, respond to their questions on government related issue and inspected government-funded projects set up as part of efforts to combat poverty in the country.Lephalale Mayor Cllr Jack Maeko told the community that the sod turning ceremony was to symbolise the commencement of the construction of RDP Houses for the Otsweleng, Ngoepe and Madibana families. The Mayor appealed to the contractor to complete the houses urgently as the identified families are in dire need. He further encouraged contractors to employ locally when construction commences. The Mayor added that this is neither the first nor the last project. He recently introduced five contractors (photo bottom right) to the community who have started with the construction of 438 RDP, houses in 10 villages including those which were destroyed by heavy winds and those which were built along the flood line area in Thabo-Mbeki. The project is expected to be completed before end of April 2016.

Good news for the Switch on at Marapong community of Ditloung

LLM in conjunction with electrical company Afrimet switched on two higmast lights in Marapong section 4 on Thursday, 28 January.

The Mayor of Lephalale Cllr MJ Maeko and the electrical division of LLM, visited Ditloung village on Friday 29 January to introduce contractors to the community. These contractors have been appointed for the electrification of Ditloung village.

Several of Lephalale local

LLM Councillors successfully municipality councillors recently received a certificate of competence for completing the complete SALGA training Councillor Development Programme (CDP). The programme which is being implemented by SALGA in cooperation with SAIL and the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA), is aimed at achieving SALGA's strategic goal of developing an empowered workforce and leadership. The training is provided over five days and covers the following areas: understanding of the legislative framework; municipal service delivery improvement; leadership and management; local economic development; municipal finance; programme management; community development; supply chain management; as well as public and media engagement

Health MEC visits Lephalale

LEPHALALE - The MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, visited Mokuruanyane on Tuesday, 9 February as part of the National STI/ Condom Week. The event was hosted by the Lephalale Municipality at the Mokuruanyane sport ground. The MEC commended the work done by health officials during a door to door campaign in in which more than 2000 people were reached with information related to STI and HIV. The aim of the campaign was to highlight the importance of condom usage and inform residents about the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. From left: LLM Speaker, Cllr M R Boloka, The MEC, Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, While visiting the households the Mayor of Lephalale, Cllr Jack Maeko the District Executive Mayor, Cllr officials emphasized this year’s Rosina Mogotlane and the LLM Chief Whip, Cllr K R Molokomme during the National STI/Condom Week event held at Mokuruanyane. STI/condom week theme “I am responsible for my Sexual and Reproductive Health”.

Services to the community included condom distribution, HIV counseling and testing, TB screening sputum collection, male medical circumcision, blood pressure and glucose tests as well as consultative discussions with members of the community.

During her keynote address, the MEC appealed to health care workers to treat patients with respect as the fear of being stigmatized is one of the many reasons why people are reluctant to The MEC, Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, the District Executive Mayor, Cllr Rosina seek medical treatment for sexually Mogotlane and the Mayor of Lephalala, Cllr Jack Maeko during one of the door transmitted infections. “ to door visits.

Health MEC visits Lephalale continued….

Lephalale Municipality commended for service delivery

The MEC commended the Lephalale Municipality for efficient service delivery in the area, encouraging health workers and medical personnel to follow suit and up the standards of health care in the area.

The STI/Condom week event coincided with the official opening of several projects which formed part of the 67 Mandela Day projects launched in 2015. The MEC officially opened the Kauletsi and Ditloung access roads. Both roads were funded by the Municipal Infrastructure Grant to the value of R10 580 422 and R11 423 965 respectively. The Asphalt roads will improve the accessibility of villages.

One of Exxaro’s Community Social Investment (CSI) projects was also officially opened at Thabo Mbeki. The community bakery provides employment for local residents. Close the event, the Mokuruanyane community hall, sponsored by Eskom was also officially opened.

The MEC, the District Executive Mayor, the Mayor of Lephalale, Kgosi P D Seleka councillors and LLM officials visited two families who are experiencing health challenges. In an attempt to alleviate their plight the Municipality presented the families with groceries.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Lephalale Municipality, the Provincial department of Health, Exxaro and Eskom was signed during the event, paving the way for a primary health care facility in Marapong. The Marapong Mediclinic which was purchased by Exxaro will with the help of several stakeholders be refurbished and should be up and running by the end of 2016.

School uniforms for disadvantaged children

Lephalale Municipality, through its honourable Mayor, Cllr Jack Maeko in partnership with the Department of Social Development donated school uniforms to learners from 11 schools in local villages at Thabo Mbeki community hall on Tuesday, 23 February. The leaners were identified by local councilors and social workers.

This initiative is part of the department and municipality’s back to basics programme aimed at uplifting rural communities and encouraging school children to study and enjoy their school days. It’s an initiative that seeks to give children a head start in life as it forms part of services needed by children for their emotional and physical needs. It imperatively seeks to address the socio- economic status in the communities of Lephalale.

In his address, the honourable Mayor, voiced his appreciation for the work done by social workers and also urged teachers to support the learners when they encounter challenges. He indicated that he will embark on a programme of donating iPads to local schools with the aim of assisting learners with internet accessibility. The Mayor, shares strongly the vision of the former president of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela when he said: “Education is a strong weapon which can bring changes in the country”

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Eight students receive Mayoral Bursaries

In an effort to uplift rural communities through education, Lephalale Municipality through the Mayoral Bursary fund awarded eight local students with full bursaries to assist in their tertiary education.

The Lephalale Council approved the Mayoral Bursary Fund to assist learners from disadvantaged backgrounds with funds to further their studies at various tertiary institutions. The applications for the

bursary closed on 15 January 2016 and the Mayoral Bursary Fund Committee conducted the shortlisting of the candidates on 29 January. The eight students are: The students with the Mayor, Cllr MJ Maeko, The Kgomo JN from Bangalong village, Radipere AM from Municipal Manager, E M Tukakgomo and Gabriel Temudzani Sefitlhogo village, Khumal SM from Kitty, Tapala KS from Shongoane 1 Lebogo PT from Marapong, Two of the eight students received bursaries from Seanego MS from Shongoane, Mosima Semenya from Boikarabelo Mine. Lephalale Mayor, Cllr Jack Maeko, Onverwacht and Gabatshepe Sefufula from Morwe Boikarabelo mine’s Bongi Ndimande, and the village students, Mosima Semenya from Onverwacht and The students received the bursaries at an event Gabatshepe Sefufula from Morwe village signed a hosted at the Municipality on 25 February. The Mayor memorandum of agreement at the Municipal Council of Lephalale, Cllr Moloko Jack Maeko reminded the Chamber on Friday, 18 February. gathering that education is a socio-economic right Semenya and Sefufula both enrolled at the University that should not be compromised. He quoted former of Limpopo to study geology. The bursary funds cover president Nelson Mandela in saying: “Education is the accommodation in a university residence, tuition fees most powerful weapon which you can use to change and text books amongst other things to the value of the world” He called for more private sector two hundred and forty thousand rand (R240 000) partnerships to equip the youth with relevant skills Boikarabelo Mine’s Bongi Ndimande, told the needed to see Lephalale grow into a major city. He gathering that they partnered with the Mayor in this added that the awarding of the bursaries to students initiative because of his visionary approach of symbolises the municipality’s commitment to build a educating local children. She added that even though vibrant city where the community can flourish. the mine has not started operating, they took a Gabriel Temudzani, well known actor and television decision to take part in the mayor’s social personality, also spoke to the students encouraging responsibility programme. them to grab this opportunity with both hands. Mayor, Maeko advised the students to focus on their “When you are blessed with a degree, never forget studies and look after themselves. We cannot talk where you come from, always be ambassadors for about economic freedom without education, Lephalale. Come back with your degrees and bring emphasised Maeko. He assured Boikarabelo mine change to your families and the development of representatives that the municipality will continue to Lephalale.” partner with the mine’s initiatives to ensure development in the area.

Minister evaluates service delivery progress

Lephalale Local Municipality (LLM) hosted Minister Mosebenzi Zwane during the launch of the 4th National Imbizo Focus Week on Monday, 4 April in Ga-Seleka. In his capacity as acting Communications Minister, and as part of national government’s moitor and evaluation programme, Minister Zwane paid a visit to three RDP building sites in the area. Three families were identified for housing intervention by Communication Minister Faith Muthambi during the launch of the Imbizo Focus week in December 2015. The visit was a follow up to determine progress made by Lephalale Municipality. Construction on all three houses should be completed by the end of April 2016.

Altogether 438 RDP houses in 10 villages are currently under construction to assist families in the Lephalale area, including those whose homes were damaged by heavy winds and flooding.

As part of his visit, Minister Zwane switched on the Lephalale Municipality electrification project which benefits over 700 households in Ga-Seleka village. The project is part of Lephalale Municipality’s commitment to service delivery in rural areas. The minister also officially opened an The Imbizo Focus Week provides for profiling local government access road in Ga-Seleka. During an achievements particularly the building blocks for the Back to Basics event at the Ga-Seleka community approach including the provision of quality basic services; the promotion hall, residents were given the of good governance; the promotion of public participation platforms; opportunity to engage with the sound financial management as an integral element to the success of minister and to ask questions local government; and building institutional capacity to strengthen relating to service delivery. municipal administrative systems and processes.

Imbizo focus week continued….

The Imbizo Focus Week which ran until 10 April coincides with the Parliamentary Constituency Week as well as the Commemoration of Freedom Month. It provides for profiling local government achievements particularly the building blocks for the Back to Basics approach including the provision of quality basic services to creating decent living conditions; the promotion of good governance in order to maintain effective functioning of municipalities; the promotion of public participation platforms to ensure that municipalities engage with their communities; sound financial management as an integral element to the success of local government; and building institutional capacity to strengthen municipal administrative systems and processes.

RDP Houses for Thabo Mbeki residents

Excited communities of Maletswai and Thabo Mbeki welcomed the introduction of Rheinland contractor at Thabo Mbeki on Monday, 25 April 2016. The contractor will start with the construction of 28 RDP houses in the area next month. This is the first phase of the project and will benefit people who were affected by heavy rains which resulted in floods damaging their houses as well as home owners with houses which lie within the flood line. These residents will be relocated as soon as construction is completed. The Mayor, Cllr M J Maeko urged the contractor to employ locally and to transfer skills to the youth in the area.

In addition, the Mayor, Cllr M J Maeko recently introduced five contractors to the community who have started with the construction of 534 RDP houses in 10 villages. The Department of Cooperative governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs allocated 300 rural housing units to be constructed for the 2016/2017 financial year in Lephalale. These housing projects are part of the Municipality’s 67 projects that were launched by the Mayor on Mandela Day last year. The project is in line with the Municipality’s commitment towards bettering living conditions of communities within Lephalale.

LLM serious about job creation

Lephalale Local Municipality (LLM) is holding true to its promises of working towards facilitating more job opportunities for local residents. The Mayor of Lephalale, Cllr Jack Maeko introduced a bulk recruitment programme in conjunction with the Management of the Medupi power station project, represented by Mashudu Khoza and Patrick Seloba.. The job creation project was officially launched at the Municipality on 13 April 2016. Through this initiative altogether 1917 job opportunities have been identified at the Power plant building site.

The Municipality is requesting that at least 60% of these jobs be reserved for qualifying local residents. The Mayor commended the newly appointed Medupi Project Manager and his team for engaging with the Municipality and for ensuring that recruitment at the Medupi Power station is guided by employment equity guidelines as prescribed in the labour law. The Mayor said that in meeting with the Medupi Project Management, it has become clear that local requirement is top of the agenda for both stakeholders. The Mayor urged local jobseekers, to register their CV’s on the Municipal database at the Mayor’s office, the information Centre in Marapong or at tribal councils. The Municipality established the database earlier this year to assist stakeholders such as Eskom, Exarro and ResGen (Resource Generation) to employ locally.

House of Traditional Leaders opened in Marapong

Lephalale Local Municipality hosted the annual opening of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders on Friday, 22 April 2016 by the Premier of Limpopo Mr. Chupu Stanley Mathabatha at the Marapong sport ground. The event provided a platform for provincial and local government as well as traditional leaders in the province to assess the progress made in carrying out their constitutional mandate as well as identify the challenges faced in working together to serve communities.

The Premier reminded the gathering that Chapter 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa recognizes and supports the institution of traditional leadership. “The participation of traditional leaders in local governance is very critical, I strongly believe united in action we can do more,” he said. Premier Mathabatha announced that provincial government has put aside a substantial budget in this financial year to assist traditional leaders. Several traditional offices were upgraded and handed over to councils in the province. Training are also provided in the form of a programme called Visionary Leaders in which all 183 Senior Traditional Leaders in the Province will be trained by the Development Bank of Southern Africa as appointed by Anglo Platinum.

The Premier also applauded the Proclamation No. 326 of 17 March 2016 in which the President approved that salaries of all categories of Traditional leaders be increased with effect from 1 April 2016. The Premier thanked Kgoshi Dikgale, the Chairperson of the House, the Deputy Chairperson, Hosi Chauke and the entire Executive Committee for the good work done. “You have worked well with this government throughout your term of office. Your advice and guidance on issues relating to tradition and culture is well appreciated.

The Mayor of Lephalale, Cllr M J Maeko said at the event that Lephalale Municipality is honoured to host this important organ of state. “This institution is charged with the responsibility of advising government, especially on matters of culture and tradition. Lephalale is predominantly rural and therefore need the assistance and guidance of our traditional leaders. They are the voices of the people. We are committed to restoring the dignity of the institution of traditional leadership,” he added.

A Mayor that cares for the community

The Mayor of Lephalale Cllr MJ Maeko visited triplets born at Ellisras Hospital on 7 May to Kgomotso Mokwatedi (27). The Mayor brought with him lots of gifts for the triplet boys, and announced that he intends to request council to approve that the Municipality support the children with clothes and funds for their education. Christmas Groceries for the Elderly