Mayoral awards recognise community stars

KwaDukuza’s mayor Ricardo Mthembu has acknowledged individuals that have gone beyond the call of duty to help others in their communities.

The mayor handed out awards to a number of individuals and organisations at the annual mayoral awards last Friday.

The event was held at the Kearsney Manor hotel and was the third edition of the awards ceremony.

There were a range of awards for different categories but the main awards were for community service, job and wealth creation, a successful person living with a disability, the best performing ward committee and the best performing councillor.

African Bank were selected for the community service award, while Pinkie Mdletshe-Mbambo won the best performing ward councillor while her ward 18 committee won the best performing ward committee.

“We are a growing area and a growing municipality but it was encouraging to see the President mention Ilembe municipality in his State of the Nation address, if he mentions them, he mention us. There is no Ilembe without KwaDukuza and no KwaDukuza without Ilembe,” he said.

Mthembu believes the awards are an important way to continue the partnership between government and private enterprises.

“We need to encourage people to be good citizens. These awards recognise people who are helping others in the area and encourage them to do more.”

As a parting word, the mayor made a plea to local businesses to help young graduates.

“I am calling on the private sector to give us spaces to ensure people get practical experience in the fields they have studied through our skills programmes,” said Mthembu.