MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) – The local Municipal Council accepted far-reaching recommendations about the annual Zoutpansberg Show, during its quarterly meeting last week.

After the Speaker had referred to the annual show and its welcome boost to the local economy, Council accepted several far-reaching recommendations by the Exco, which contain severe criticism of the show in its present guise and format. Council claims that the show committee ignored council’s policy statement in 1997, that all entrance revenues should be utilized for the improvement of the facilities on the show grounds. It requested a departmental investigation into the real amount owed by the show committee to the municipality.

Council decided that the show committee would be requested to consider and implement the following:

* The executive committee of the Zoutpansberg Show should be made more representative of the community and the constitution should be amended in order to facilitate this. Advertisement of the annual general meeting and election of the show committee should be done more extensively. Furthermore, a new lease agreement should be entered into between the newly established committee and the Municipality.

* The show should be decentralized to the rural regions of the municipality and the central annual show should be a culmination of these regional shows.

* The name of the Zoutpansberg Show should be amended to be the Makhado Annual Show and must be advertised and promoted as such.

* The show committee should conduct a survey regarding the needs of disabled persons at the show grounds and a report in this regard should be submitted to the municipality by the end of September this year, in order to include proposals in the 2006/7 budget.

The present show committee was approached this week for comment on these far-reaching requests, but said that they needed time to study the documentation and that they would comment at a later stage.