The Executive Mayor of Lekwa Local Municipality, Cllr. Sifiso Mngemezulu hosted an important meet and greet with key stakeholders at the municipality’s main building in Standerton.
The purpose of the session was to establish strong relationships with the municipality shared with its stakeholders and foster collaborations in many areas that among them include employment in an attempt to address the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty, and socio-economic inequalities.
The meet and greet session was attended by SASOL, Seriti, Eskom, Meadow Feeds, Standerton Mills, COFCO International and Sky Village.
Delivering the key note address, Executive Mayor Mngemezulu said: “Maintaining the stakeholder relationship and bringing change to this municipality is essential for the growth and prosperity of our community. We must all work together to create sustainable solutions that benefit everyone”
He said, his election as the Executive Mayor in November 2024 and the meet and greet came at the “right time where our people needed us the most, because of service delivery deficiencies, scourge of poverty and unemployment.”
He called on all stakeholders to support the vision of building better communities through the programme of Corporate Social Investment and Social Labour Plan.
The Executive Mayor also took the opportunity to urge the stakeholders to have a coordinated approach to Corporate Social Investment (CSI) in order to make impact in addressing community needs and development and to avoid duplications in the CSI initiatives.”
“Having a centralised Corporate Social Investment initiatives will ensure that we seriously dent the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty, and socio-economic inequalities, as we would ensure that resources are share effectively and efficiently and thereby collectively tackle the issues that matter most to our community and create long-term positive change. This will be lead to a greater accountability in the implementation of community projects,” he stated.
He also urged all stakeholders to utilise a centralised local employment database for the purpose of giving preference to locals both on Job opportunities and Skills training development programmes.
The executive mayor said his office will be conducting this engagement more frequently as part of coordinating development of Lekwa communities.
The session was also attended by the Speaker of Council Cllr. Dumsani Msibi, MMC for Planning and Economic Development Cllr. Sesana Masondo, MMC for Community Services and Safety Cllr. Mapaseka Molaba, MMC for Technical Services Cllr. Litheko Marago, MMC for Budget and Treasury Office Cllr. Thabang Motaung, Chief Whip Cllr. Rose Motloung, MPAC Chairperson Cllr. Doctor Manana and Cllr. Smanga Ngwenya.