17 Junie 2011
Tzaneen, Modjadjiskloof, Haenertsburg, Letsitele, Phalaborwa, Gravelotte, Giyani, Hoedspruit, Lenyenye, Mica, Mooketsi, Nkowankowa, Ofcolaco, Trichardtsdal
3838, Tzaneen • 8 Crown Street/Straat 8 • 015 307 7248 • 015 307 7684 • editor@bulletin.us.com • www.bulletin.us.com
• GLM’s Mayor reveals ...
Never give up Since the inception of Bulletin seven years ago, our management tried to register the word bulletin for our web address — instead of the longer bulletinnews which was the closest that we could get to it. Bulletin is so popular as a name for newspapers and newsletters worldwide that we have been unsuccessful, until a while ago. We never gave up trying and we finally succeeded in registering www.bulletin. us.com. This has resulted in us being enabled to also use the shorter version for our e-mails (see panel on page 2). We are now busy constructing a new inter-active web site, which will soon be accessible on the new address. Henceforth it will be easier to communicate with our staff, since the first name and the extension @bulletin.us.com will do it. Example: john@bulletin.us.com. To communicate with the different departments at Bulletin, the panel on page 2 could be consulted for their e-mail addresses. Kindly update your records accordingly.
No money Beaunice Machitela
beaunice@bulletin.us.com
Outdated infrastructure and a high rate of illiteracy among its residents are the biggest challenges facing the Greater Letaba Municipality, says Mayor Godfrey City Modjadji. He revealed in an exclusive interview with the Bulletin earlier this week that the GLM has many financial restrictions. They thus have to rely on national and provincial grants for funds. Modadjiskloof is one of the oldest towns in South Africa. The water, road and electricity infrastructures are outdated and The Greater Letaba Municipality’s Mayor, Mr desperately need rebuilding to avoid conCity Modjadji tinuous repairs (and frustration). In 2006 the council inherited a municipality with no systems in place, no financial reports and no policies in place. Since 2006 financial reports are being submitted to the Auditor General and for the past two years the GLM has received unqualified reports
Municipality’s assets to be auctioned by sheriff 12 page Bumper Edition
Office equipment of the Greater Giyani Municipality will be sold on public auction on 7 July, after a court order was granted in favour of Vuka Khulano Timber Industries for outstanding debt.
R3
Farmers face constraints
Among the items to be sold are fifteen computers, ten printers, four photo copiers, a big TV and a DVD player.The judgement was grant- Farmers in the Greater Letaba Municipality ed on 16 March this year. (which for some reason is the name given to Modjadjiskloof) face serious constraints against economic development. This is because nearly half the land contained within its boundaries is under land claim. This is according to the Municipality’s Integrated Development Plan for 2011/2012. The land claim process is a lengthy one and has not yet been resolved by the Land Claims Commissioner. This creates “a high level of uncertainty” among commercial farmers “and their ability to expand and employ more people” but also “deters investment in the area.” Another constraint, which has a greater deterrent effect on small farmers is that half the land in the Municipality’s jurisdiction is
REMEMBER 1 JULY:
Klagtes oor klipgroef is ‘n kraaines — bl 7 Expo se splinternuwe baadjie — bl 5
as a result of some outstanding accounts. “The next step is to get a clean audit from the AG,” Modjadji said. He added that “the high illiteracy rate among residents, accompanied by alcohol abuse often led to a lot of school drop-outs. This left people unable to pay rates, leaving the GLM to rely on government grants.” However, 2 700 houses should have electricity by 2014, with the GLM spending almost R2 million on this in the current financial year. The dilapidated main road through Modjadjiskloof will also be attended to, as the GLM is awaiting a reply from the department of roads and transport to fund the rebuilding of the road. As part of restructuring the municipality hired skilled staff and this has led to a change in attitude. “We also included traditional leaders in council meetings as a measure towards intensifying public participation,” Modjadji said.
state-owned and under the custodianship of tribal authorities. In other words, it is communal land. Small farmers have permission to occupy such land but do not have title. This precludes them from raising bank finance for the development of their enterprises. Greater Letaba is one of the smaller municipal areas with a land area of under 2 000 square km. It has a population of nearly 250 000, over a third of which are under 15 years of age. Unfortunately it is the youth that are most affected by the “priority issues” of water, electricity, schools and health facilities, not to mention high unemployment. The majority of households in the Municipality are headed by women or children, many of them with no income and entirely dependent on social grants.