The executive mayor of Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto, has awarded bursaries to six members of local music group, Mohlakeng Acapellas, to study at the tertiary institutions of their choice this year.

Leeto made the announcement at a function organised by the municipality, in partnership with the provincial department of education. 5 300 Grade12 learners were invited to the Phakisa Freeway Racecourse in Welkom to motivate them to do well in their studies.

The mayor said last year’s Grade 12 learners in the province proved beyond reasonable doubt that coming from a disadvantaged background is not a reason or an excuse not to do well at school.

She told this year’s Grade12 learners that they have a huge responsibility of ensuring that they produce better results than the class of 2013, which came out tops out of the nine provinces.

“It is unfortunate that you are currently in that phase of your lives when you want to experiment. But all these things that you feel pressured to try out right now will still be there when you have accomplished the important things such as passing your matric and obtaining a degree. Set goals for yourself so you can see yourself in some university next year, and let all the other frivolous things take the backseat.”

“Our target as a province was for the matriculants of 2013 to obtain a pass rate of 85 percent, but these learners made us very proud by exceeding that goal and obtaining an amazing 86 percent. This year, with the necessary resources and support provided, our aim for the 2014 grade 12 learners is set at 90 percent and we are confident that you can achieve that,” said Leeto.

Eminent people, who formed part of a panel of motivational speakers, including senior Central University of the Free State administrator, Dr. Solomon Makola, the department of education’s Lejweleputswa district direct, Amos Mokgobo, curriculum advisor, Tshidiso Baretseng, and motivational speaker, Seadimo Tlale addressed the learners.

Mokgobo said the provincial department of education will offer this year’s matriculants numerous academic support programmes to ensure that they perform well in their end of the year exams.

“There will be Easter, winter and spring classes as well as weekend classes for struggling learners. There will also be a community learners’ programme that teachers, parents and other community members can participate in to support the children,” said Mokgobo.

The recipients of the mayor’s bursaries, Mohlakeng Acapellas, have been featured on a track in the upcoming album of Lesedi FM presenter, Seipati Seoke, aka Twasa, who was the programme director on the day.

“I grew up in this part of the world, these are my people and this is home to me. With the great marks from the last year’s matriculants, it is an honour for me to be part of the preparation for this year’s matriculants. When I first heard the Mohlakeng Acapellas, I knew that I needed to include them in my next album, before someone else snatched them away,” said Twasa.

The Matjhabeng Local Municipality and Lejweleputswa District Municipality paid their last respects to fallen world hero, Nelson Mandela, by holding a memorial service.

 Mayors of the two municipalities laid wreaths at Central Park in Welkom.

The executive mayor of Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto, said losing Madiba was a very sad moment.

“We must let go and allow Madiba to rest in peace. We will take over where he has left off. I know he will have peace if he sees that we are continuing with his good work to build a non-racist South Africa,” said Leeto.

Leeto erected the memorial wall when she was the executive mayor of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, in commemoration of the fallen heroes who made a contribution towards the liberation of the country.

“We must remember that everything that we have achieved in this country is because of thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives for us. We must keep that in mind as we continue to enjoy the freedom and democracy that Nelson Mandela and others fought for,” added Leeto.

Thousands of community members joined the mayors at the wreath-laying ceremony. They brought flowers to the memorial wall to bid Mandela farewell.

According to Philemon Gatyeni, a community member who also came to pay his respects, even though the world was aware that Mandela was ill, everyone idolised him so much that his death was still a surprise.

“When South Africa’s democracy was still in its infancy, and we were still young, we would joke that if Madiba ever died South Africa would return to apartheid. However, here we are today, 20 years into our democracy and black and white people are mourning the death of the former president.

“I believe it would make him very proud to know that he has accomplished his dream of liberating South Africa and lived a while to see it come to pass,” said Gatyeni.

The executive mayor of Matjhabeng Local Municipality, Sebenzile Ngangelizwe, held a small ceremony in front of the Matjhabeng municipal offices where he erected the South African flag and proceeded to lay wreaths at the memorial wall.

“The flowers are in honour of a man who was very much loved by everyone in the world. We would also like to give our condolences to his family and thank them for lending him to us. He spent very little time with them, because of his devotion to the country and his vision to have a non-racist South Africa,” said Ngangelizwe.

The provincial department of agriculture and rural development’s food security programme, Re Kgaba Ka Diratswana, has led to the establishment of 1 057 thriving food gardens in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality.

The MEC for agriculture and rural development, Mamiki Qabathe, said Re Kgaba Ka Diratswana was initiated by the Free State provincial government to ensure that there is food security in communities throughout the province.

“The programme has already been implemented in identified towns throughout the province as a way of encouraging communities to use vegetables to beautify their communities. This will also assist to fight hunger and malnutrition brought about by unemployment and poverty among these needy communities,” said Qabathe at the project’s launch held in Virginia last week.

For the past five months the department has been working feverishly to implement the project that forms part of an outcome-based plan called “food security for all,” which is aimed at alleviating food insecurity within the province.

Qabathe said during 2012/13 financial year, rapidly rising global food prices have posed a threat to the food security of poor households throughout the world and specifically contributed to increasing levels of poverty in South Africa.

“The alleviation of poverty remains a challenge and government’s role as an agent to create conditions conducive for employment will be accelerated through broader government programmes developed to create job creation, stimulate economic growth and contribute towards rural development.”

The food gardens are currently operating in the schools and church yards. The MEC bemoaned the fact that many community parks have been turned into dumping sites. She said the department is going to monitor all the food gardens to ensure that they are self-sustainable.

“In January, the Re Kgaba Ka Diratswana initiative will be seven months old, and we will give awards to the best gardens with the best produces.”

WhatBox is working in collaboration with the department to raise awareness about the Re Kgaba Ka Diratswana initiative. Whatbox is a 100 percent black owned strategic brand and media solutions agency that offers companies fresh solutions to reach their desired audience by operating at the cross-section of branding, media, technology and sociology to create innovative business solutions in a more digital and interconnected world.

Qabathe said the provincial government remains committed to creating a conducive environment for people to produce their own food and caution poor residents of the province from the rising food prices.

“As I have mentioned in my Budget Speech for 2013/14, through the Re Kgaba Ka Diratswana initiative, households, clinics and schools are targeted where hectares of land including backyards and communal gardens will be cultivated.

“We hope that our communities will transform their love for agriculture into real action, and work together to revitalize agriculture and put the province on the road to sustainable development.”

What started out as a small project in the back of Moleleki Chaka’s yard seven years ago to give unemployed young people an idea of how they can be creative with their time is now a source of income to many.

Ntshirelletse Food Garden, based in the Meloding township of Virginia, has received praise from both the community and leading institution in the area. It has been hailed as a golden example of great things that can be achieved when people work together to achieve a common goal.

Chaka, who is the chairperson of the project, said the aim of the food garden is to ensure food security and job creation for its members and the community at large.

“Most of the people we recruit are young people. We want to change their perception that the world owes them something and encourage them to taking responsibility for themselves. Currently, we are maintaining two gardens, one in Meloding and the other at the Virginia Library.

“We harvest the basic fruit and vegetables that are needed in households on a daily basis. From there the produce is sold by different groups to the community, and local businesses. We also take a portion of the produce to donate to different schools in Meloding.”

Chaka said the proud moment for Ntshirelletse Food Garden, was when they won first position in the Living Heritage Day competition which is supported by Free State Agriculture in 2005.

“This gave us motivation that we are on the right track, with what we are doing and also gave the community and other unemployed youth a solid reason to believe in us.”

The Food Garden has been cited as an example of how small scale farming can be used to make a difference in the community.

“The Ntshirelletse Food Garden has increased a sense of community ownership and stewardship.

This group of young people have forester the development of a community identity and spirit. It is very encouraging to work in a community where people are buzzing with positive energy,” said CWP facilitator, Thomas Macingwane.

Mamiki Kometsi, from the Community Correctional Services Social Integration in Virginia programme, said the project will go a long way in reducing especially youth unemployment in Melodoing Township.

“I am really impressed by what you are doing in this project. You involvement in this project will ensure that you to never get involved in crime and end up in jail which is not a good place to be in,” said Kometsi.

An emergency meeting with parents and teachers of the Bronville community was convened by the Lejweleputswa District Municipality and the department of education last week Sunday to address the low performance rate of the learners at the Welkom Secondary School.

Department of education district director, Sam Mokgobo, said the department has signed an agreement with all the schools in Lejweleputswa to obtain an 80 percent pass rate in this year’s matric examinations.

Mokgobo said schools with less than 50 children are expected to obtain 100 percent pass rate.

“With this new programme, we further agreed that the analysis will be done after the June/July and September examination. When the assessment was done for the Welkom Secondary School, we had no choice but to declare the school as underperforming.

“The aim of the meeting is to inform the parents about the assessment results as well as to put our heads together to improve these results before the end of the year.”

According to Mokgobo, the lowest pass rate the school obtained was 23 percent in 2008. This is a drastic drop for the school that used to obtain pass rates of up to 96.8 percent a few years ago.

He said since the assessment, members of the department have visited the school for almost two weeks and have identified ill-discipline among children as one of the key challenges facing the school.

“After the meetings, we were convinced that Welkom Secondary has serious challenges. Not only is the behaviour of the children worrying but the physical structures of the school are a cause for concern. There is no fencing, classroom doors are missing and windows are broken,” said Mokgobo.

The results of the assessment did not come as a surprise to the parents who said they were aware of conditions at the school.

“There is a huge lack of communication; this was the first meeting between parents and teachers this year. I believe the problem at the school stems from the learners, parents, teachers, and the department of education.  But there is no once-off solution; it is a constant relationship between these parties that needs to be built.

“In order to prevent the pass rate of the school from plummeting to 23 percent again, I suggested that the business community sponsor the children to go on a revision camp,” said SGB member, parent and community leader, Bishop Shalton Kockera.

Teachers, who participated in the meeting, complained about the boisterous and disrespectful behaviour of the learners.

“We deal with a class of almost 50 children. These children are unruly, ill-mannered and sometimes even violent. It is not our jobs to teach them manners,” complained one teacher.

Mokgobo has promised that the department will convene more meetings between all the stakeholders at the school to try and find solutions facing the school and come up with strategies to improve the school’s results.

“There are only 25 school days left of the year, if one takes away the September holidays and weekends. It is no use blaming each other, we need to work together and find a solution before we end up with a bunch of failing matriculants.”

The non-state sector (NSS) programme of the department of public works’ Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Road show for people living with disabilities kicked off yesterday in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality.

According to EPWP Programme Manager in the Free State, Masego Tshabalala, the Independent Development Trust (IDT) and the National Department of Public Works (DPW) have collaborated to promote participation and consciousness about the programme in the Lejweleputswa district.

IDT as the Programme Implementation Agency for the EPWP-NSS programme in the country has recognised the lack of awareness and participation from Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) working with people living with disabilities.

 “There are many programmes aimed at creating employment for the poor people. Yet disabled people are often left out. We want to encourage and create awareness for these organisations to employ people with disabilities in their employment,” said Tshabalala.

The provincial manager of disabled people South Africa, Mokati Moledi, said the NGO is very happy with the initiative and hope this will pave way to see a larger number of persons with disabilities to participate in the programme in the future.

“The community hears ‘labour intensive work’ and they immediately excuse persons with disabilities. In reality ‘labour intensive’ means creating as much job opportunities for as many people without discriminating. We should also realise that the levels of disabled person vary; which means that there are a number of activities in which a person can participate; we should not only focus on physical disabilities.

“We also believe that this initiative will eradicate the fear that people with disabilities will lose their grants if they were to participate in the EPWP programmes,” said Moledi.

One of the NPO’s that took part in the launch, Lesedi Mohau Development Centre, has 100 men and women in their employment, three of whom have disabilities.

“We want to assist IDT and DPW in banishing the assumptions surrounding people with disabilities in the work place. It is not that they are not able to perform, they are just differently abled,” said Cassey Barnes, a member of Lesedi Mohau Development Centre.

Lejweleputswa District Municipality’s municipal Manager, Palesa Kaota, pledged full support for the initiative.

“We are availing ourselves to the (EPWP) road show for people living with disabilities. Our first priority is to spread the information to both our persons with disabilities regarding their rights, grants and applying for job opportunities. We will also have regular updates with the NPO’s so that no one feels discriminated against.”

The first ever food bank in the province is scheduled to be launched in October in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality with the aim of feeding over 20 percent of underprivileged households in the region on a daily basis.

The acting executive mayor of the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Xolile Toki described the initiative as an opportunity to not only feed underprivileged people in the community, but also curb the high crime rate in the region.

The municipality, in partnership with the department of social development and Food Bank South Africa (SA) held a meeting on Wednesday with business people in the district to discuss the implementation of the project.

The food bank warehouse will be based in QwaQwa, with two distribution areas in Thabong (Welkom) and Dealesville.

South Africa is one of a handful of countries that are capable of providing enough food for its people. Despite this, over 11 million South Africans are “food insecure”; in other words, they do not know where their next meal is coming from.

According to Harry Diamond of the department of social development, hunger and malnutrition are crippling conditions for almost a quarter of the country’s population.

“Poverty and food insecurity are rife in urban areas of South Africa, but the rural areas where approximately two thirds of the country’s poor live are hit the hardest. The resulting hardship and vulnerability represent one of the greatest impediments to our social, emotional and economic development.

“In South Africa, hunger is not a matter of supply. We can grow enough food. Rather the problem is one of access and logistics. The objectives of the food bank are to increase food distribution to households, establish community depots in poor and vulnerable communities and to establish community nutritional development centres in all provinces.”

Business people in Lejweleputswa have pledged their full support to the establishment of a food bank in the region, but they expressed concerns that these might create a dependency culture where people do not look for work and rely on hand-outs.

“The fact that our community is starving is something to be worried about. But the old saying says give a man a fish and he’ll eat for one day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for the rest of his life,” said Johan Mans a businessman from Welkom.

“Our aim is not to paralyse the nation but to give a sustainability option to those in the community who are in dire need of it.”

The office of the executive mayor of the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto, set aside the whole Thursday to make a difference in the lives of poor communities within the district as part of giving during the67 minutes of Mandela Day.

“This day symbolises the kindness that human beings are capable of showing to one another. We want to remind the community that they should not wait for government to bring projects to them, but take the initiative to make a difference in their neighbours’ lives and in their neighbourhood,” said Leeto.

She said there are numerous sick and old people in the area who need people to help them clean their houses and yards.

“Our walls are builded so high and we have become so selfish and isolated from each other that we cannot even see a neighbour in need of help. This day gives us an opportunity to get back to our roots and get in touch with one another.”

Mandela Day on July 18 is an annual international day adopted by the United Nations. It is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy; it is a global movement to take his life’s work into a new century and change the world for the better. Mandela Day calls on all humanity to embrace Madiba’s values and honour his legacy through an act of kindness.

Leeto donated R95 000 to Johan Pieterse, an unemployed white man who wants to start a herbal shop.

“I started selling herbs seven months ago in order to support my family, but when I saw how miraculously the herbs helped people I requested the municipality to help me open a shop that will help many other people in the district,” said Pieterse.

He said his first priority is to distribute his herbs to orphanages and old age homes in the district.

“Children and old people are the most neglected, therefore if my business takes off, I will give them the herbs and they should be able to live long and healthy lives.”

The municipality also distributed 40 food parcels and 40 blankets to 80 child-headed families at Kutlwanong location. Another 40 food parcels and 40 blankets were distributed to 80 child headed families at Nyakallong location.

“We also went on to distribute 40 food parcels and 40 blankets to 80 child headed-family at Meloding location and 40 food parcels and 40 blankets to 80 child headed family at Malebogo location, Hertzogville,” said Leeto.

She revealed that similar donations were made in Wesselbron, Theunissen and Riebeeckstad.

The mayor of the of the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto, has challenged the council to develop policies to curb the municipality’s ballooning salary bill and free up the saved money to address service delivery backlogs

“The Municipality is still facing a lot of challenges that hinder us from accomplishing all our obligations to the communities of the district. Our annual salary bill increased by 62 percent, I believe that it is crucial for council to come up with suggestions in order for us to deal with the problem, so that money could be used to make a huge difference on service delivery issues within the municipality.”

Leeto presented the R 108.8-billion draft budget for 2013/2014 financial year for the Lejweleputswa District Municipality for council approval.

“I propose to council that a 2013/2014 Budget which amounts to a capital budget of R 3 975 100 and an operating budget of R 104 864 192 be approved. My recommendations are that council approves the 2013/2014 IDP; a workshop be organised where the demarcation board must be invited by the executive mayor to clarify some functions; and that the accounting officer must submit the approved annual budget to the provincial treasury.

“As the municipality, we are faced with a challenge of being 100 percent dependent on grants from national government and have no billable resources since the district is not collecting levies. Council should also note that the overhead costs grow at a higher rate than the income and it absorbs a bigger part of income year by year,” added Leeto.

The impact of the declining global economy and the decrease in the district’s population has negatively affected the municipality’s revenue.

“The Lejweleputswa District Municipality 2013/2014 IDP is informed by the five key strategic objectives of local government namely, local economic development; municipal transformation and institutional development; basic service delivery and infrastructure; financial viability and management and good governance,” said Leeto.

She said the district municipality hosted a dialogue on June 14 at JC Mothumi High School in Thabong, in celebration of Youth Day.

“The main purpose of the dialogue was to create a platform for youth to talk about their role in a democratic society. And what was most surprising was the fact that the five participants were all girls. This encouraged the municipality to help fund the ‘take a girl child to work project’ in the fight against abuse of alcohol and drugs.” concluded Leeto.

The poor white communities of Odendaalsrus, Welkom and Ventersburg were generously blessed on Tuesday morning when the Lejweleputswa District Municipality donated tonnes of food parcels and blankets to them.

“This visit has been embarked upon because these communities have been identified as communities that are in dire need of the government’s assistance. Together with the food and blankets that we are giving our people, we are also being accompanied by the South African Social Service Agency (SASSA), the department of home affairs, as well as the health department,” said executive mayor of the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Mathabo Leeto.

She said it had come to the municipality’s attention that these communities did not have proper documentation to register and qualify for government’s social assistance and services such as housing.

“Our aim with this visit is to have all races realise that they have equal rights and opportunities in this democratic government and to preach self-reliance just as we do in black disadvantaged communities.

“Today we are bringing to them all these different departments to enable them to access government and the services it offers. Our main goal is for them to move out of their current circumstances and live in their own homes allocated to them by government. We understand that most of them cannot even afford rent at their current accommodation,” said Leeto.

One of the communities that were visited is a block of 24 houses called Sewende Laan, which is owned by the Harmony Mining Group, where residents are asked to pay between R 500 and R 800 per month.

“Both me and my partner are currently unemployed and have been staying at Sewende Laan for almost ten years with our two children. The conditions here are very dire but this is all we can afford. We are very happy that government has visited us. We have been struggling to apply for identity documentation as well as grants for our children,” said Annelie van Niekerk (26).

She said the first thing she would do is register to qualify for government housing.

“My children are still very small, and I don’t want them to grow up here. We live so far away from town and civilisation. I want them to have hope for a better future.”

The Matjhabeng Local Municipality also contributed with vegetables and transport for some of the communities.

“We would like to emphasise the fact that this is a non-racial government that seeks to provide and care for all races,” said Dora Coetzee of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality.

She added that one of the main objectives of government is to fight poverty and initiatives such as this one will assist in achieving that objective.