Office of the Speaker
Cllr. Speaker Mr Sam Letlakane
‘ Tswaing Local Municipality’
Message from the speaker
3rd Edition
Tswaing Local Municipality constituency has entrusted the council, us, the councillors with the immediate responsibility of ensuring that we bring forth the fruits of their votes by putting us into council to take decisions that will better the lives of all in Tswaing. This was witnessed during the local and district election held on the 3rd of August 2016. The trust shown by the community must never ever be betrayed by any of our council members. To ensure that this never happens, as the Speaker of council, I am entrusted with these functions as set out in Section 37 of the Municipal Structures Act, to:
• Preside at meetings of the Council;
• Perform the duties and exercise the powers delegated to the speaker by the Council
• Ensure that the council meets at least quarterly;
• Maintain order during council meetings;
• Ensure compliance in the council and council committees with the Code of Conduct for Councillors as set out in Schedule 1 of the Municipal Systems Act ;
• Ensure that council meetings are conducted in accordance with the rules and orders of the council; and
• Ensure that traditional leaders are designated to attend and participate in any meetings of Council
It is of paramount importance that the community should be given the platform to engage the council on their socio economic, infrastructural, housing, education, health, sport and recreation needs therefore; the following will be the core for participation:
• Developing mechanisms to ensure and monitor participation of communities in the decision making process of the municipality;
• Ensuring that communities and community organizations are educated on their rights and responsibilities to participate and give input to the municipality's policy development processes as well as planning and budget processes;
• Ensuring that the public is invited to attend meetings of the Council where the annual report is to be tabled or discussed.
By fully implementing these legal requirements of council, we will also be fulfilling the call by Hon Premier SOR Mahumapelo that one of the five pillars, being Saamtrek Saamwerk is achieved. The community of Tswaing Local Municipality deserve better, and this council must fulfil that mandate.
We urge all stakeholders, being government department, traditional leadership, parastatals, NGO’s, CBO’s, religious formations, youth and women formations to work with us in the next five years to work on bettering the lives of our people by continuously communicating and making submissions to the council so to enhance the mechanisms set forth for service delivery. Kgetsi ya tsie e kgonwa ka go tshwaraganelwa!
I wish to say thank you once more the community of Tswaing for putting their future aspiration in our hands, we are humbled by your trust. Let’s walk together towards the betterment of the lives of our people.
Together moving Tswaing forward, Kea leboga!
2nd Edition
Good governance is built upon an effective interface between political office bearers, Political Structures, Councillors and officials, the delegation of appropriate powers to achieve maximum operational and administrative efficiency and the amicable resolution of disputes between the respective role-players.
Our experience has confirmed that no one undertakes a journey alone. We depend upon others constantly in ways both tangible and intangible to move us towards our destination. This is based on strategic alignment to the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy, and IDP Strategies included especially with focus on impact and outcome achieved.
The current water crisis is receiving attention and we will find a lasting solution by involving both spheres and water entities, in providing our people with clean water.
The year 2016 is the year of investing more in our future by educating our children and the youth about the heritage of this country. We need to also emphasise the 3 T’S: The Teacher in the classroom, Time on Task and a Textbook for each learner in each subject.
Education therefore remains an apex priority for our government, we will continue to promote universal access to education by ensuring that all children between ages 7 and 15 are in school, we will increase the number of Grade 12 learners who can gain entrance to university. The results of 2015 indicate that we are on the right track as far as this goal is concerned.
1st Edition
This year marks the 59th anniversary since the 1956 Women’s march to the Union Buildings where over 20 000 women protested against the pass laws which among other things restricted their freedom of movement and also challenging the oppressive system, and created an enduring legacy in our country’s history.
In recognition of this legacy, the South African Government declared the 9th August a National Women’s Day, in order to annually celebrate the women’s contribution to the liberation of the country and the achievement and aspirations of the women in 1956.
This day is also celebrated in order to remind our government of the role that women play in the liberation of our country and also to remind itself and ourselves of the challenges we face in our struggle for women empowerment. As we move towards the 60th Anniversary of the women’s march, we need to recognise the stalwarts that confronted colonialism, apartheid pass law, land dispossession, etc. We need to teach our young women of Tswaing Local Municipality, our young women in the North West Province and our young women in the whole of South Africa, that the role played by women in the history of South Africa can not be complete until we take a journey that begins from the era of Manthatisi the female warrior of the Batlokwa tribe, Princess Mkabayi from the Zulu kingdom, Princess Mantsopa from the Basotho kingdom, Queen Modjadji of the Balobedu, Charlotte Manye Maxeke, Mama Ruth Segomotsi Mompati (whom we recently laid to rest), Frances Goitsemang Baard, Rev. Motlalepula Chabaku and others of the generation of 1956 and beyond.
In his first State of The Nation Address in 1994 President Nelson Mandela cautioned the first democratically elected parliament that; “Freedom can not be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. Our endeavours must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child”.
As the speaker of Tswaing, during this woman’s month we strongly condemn any form of xenophobic attack, woman abuse and also woman trafficking. We call to our government to work towards strengthening the law in ensuring that women and children are being protected.