Learners from different schools in Rand West City got to experience how the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) operates.
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This was through the job experience day which was hosted by Rand West City Libraries in partnership with the municipality’s communications department at the municipal building.
The theme of the event was ‘A day in the office’ and the learners got an opportunity to do exactly that; spend a day in the departments that they wish to work for in the future.
The departments that they visited included IT, finance, supply chain, housing, local economic development, electrical, revenue, communications, and housing among others.
Executive Mayor Gladys Khoza also addressed the learners during a breakfast session before they headed to their different departments.
She said the purpose of the visit is so learners could understand the processes of local government and reiterated that the visits must be made regularly. She also spoke about her role as the decision-maker of the municipality and how everything is done according to due process.
“My role as the mayor is to ensure that the municipality is functioning accordingly as I’m the decision maker. We also have a municipal manager and when we make decisions, we don’t just take decisions because we want to.
We listen to our communities and come back to implement what needs to be done. We also cannot implement without a budget.
“That’s why we need to know how much the institution has so that we can render service delivery. When you see that there is no service delivery where you stay, it is because of the challenges of budget constraints. This is something that you must understand so that when you talk about the municipality, you know how it operates and learned that there are processes to be followed,” the mayor said, who added that she hopes the information learned by the learners will be shared with others.
She also urged that such initiatives should be done regularly so that learners can get a sense of their potential career spaces.
Meanwhile, Phomolang Mofokeng from Westonaria High School said she was very excited about the visit to the municipal offices.
I’m very excited to be here today because I get to learn more about the things that I want to study.”
Tumelo Masukela from the same school also shared similar sentiments.
“I’m also very happy about this opportunity because I get to weigh my options and see what it is exactly that I want to do post-high school,” said Tumelo.
