The new mayor of the Mutale Local Municipality (MLM), Cllr Josephine Mukwevho, said that the council was ready to speed up service delivery to the communities it was serving.

“Our mandate as councillors is to serve and to deliver better services to our communities, with dedication and commitment. We are here as councillors to help deliver services to our people, and nothing else,” said Mukwevho.

She addressed the council last Thursday, shortly after she was sworn in as the first female mayor in the predominately rural Mutale Municipality. The election of Mukwevho as new mayor of Mutale followed her succession of the caretaker mayor, Cllr Nndavheleseni Lieba, who chaired the council for 20 days after the former mayor, Cllr Tshitereke Matibe, was appointed executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality on 12 June.

“I promise to do justice to all the council activities, and I invite councillors and members of the communities to come to my office and share their experiences and challenges, so that we can speedily deliver services. Now we urge our councillors to go back to the different structures and offices and work smarter and harder than before."

Mukwevho (36), who hails from Mutele B near Masisi, outside Mutale, was the chairperson of corporate and community services in the MLM prior her appointment as a mayor.