POLOKWANE – “I am fuelled by determination and driven by our people’s desire for a better life.”
New Polokwane mayor Thembisile Simelane-Nkadimeng was speaking at a gala dinner shortly after being sworn in as a councillor and mayor during a special council meeting on Thursday.
She said the responsibility that council had bestowed her with was a great honour, and success depended largely on how well the municipality collectively managed the mandate to ensure that the community had a better life.
She attributed her election to the women of this country and continent, and said she was grateful to the national and provincial leadership of the ANC for creating a political space for women to lead and organise society for a better life, today, tomorrow and in the future.
She also thanked her predecessor, Freddy Greaver, for developing a solid foundation from which to steer the city on the path to success. “His tenure was characterised by unifying the people, community engagement, integrity, fighting maladministration, dedication and hard work. There are the pillars upon which we shall build on strategies to propel this municipality forward,” she said.
One of her main targets was to ensure that the municipality achieved a clean audit, she said. “I would derive great joy from my term of office if municipality achieves a clean audit,” she said. “This has eluded the municipality for the past years, yet it is achievable.”
Her focus points included building up to the Smart Vision 2030 project that the municipality launched during the recent state of the city address.
She said the project was a vehicle that she would steer to fast-track service delivery in the municipality and ensure that the municipality became a smart city that was characterised by smart- economy, environment, governance, living, mobility and people.
The council owed it to communities to ensure that they accelerated the provision of water to cover the remaining 15% who hadn’t yet received water, she said. “Equally, the challenge of sanitation cannot be overemphasised as the backlog is fare greater than in other basice services,” she said.
She said she was not afraid of the so-called big shoes and hot seat she had to fill. She expected nothing less of the people of the city to judge her in everything she did. “I believe that my actions will speak much louder than my words, and I am looking forward to proving the worth of a woman as Polokwane mayor,” she said.
Simelane-Nkadimeng further said she was looking forward to a positive working relationship with the business sector, the media, traditional leaders and all other stakeholders. “Help us improve, keep us on our toes. Let us all take part in building our beautiful city,” she said.
She was congratulated by councillors and other stakeholders who wished her all the best in her future endeavours as mayor. Following her swearing in, a parade was held in honour of the new number one citizen of Polokwane.
