Govan Mbeki Municipality’s executive mayor, Nhlakanipho Zuma, met the Govan Mbeki Art and Culture Forum at the vandalised Sijongile Ndama Community Hall in eMbalenhle on Monday, March 28.
Zuma previously met with the forum when they requested to use the hall while it had been occupied by drug addicts.
“We are still in the process of renovating the hall and it will be fixed before June, which is the end of the municipality’s financial year.
“Our role is to make sure that the facility returns to its original state.
“The situation at the hall is still not good and it needs to be protected,” the mayor said.
Zuma explained the forum may use the hall until the renovations have been completed.
“Thereafter, we will discuss and outline the terms and conditions for using the hall, because it doesn’t belong to you alone but to the entire community,” he told the forum.
The forum told the mayor that they intended to turn the hall into a mini-theatre but the mayor disagreed.
“We have the municipal theatre in Secunda. If you want to perform theatre plays or any activities related to it, book the Johannes Stegmann Theatre.”
The forum also raised their concerns about the ongoing vandalism of the hall’s roof and the mayor said it would be taken into consideration.
He was surprised that there was no security personnel to safeguard the hall.
