The new headman for Raliphaswa village, Mr Samuel Tshiwandalani, was inaugurated at the village last Saturday.

Members of the communities from the surrounding villages of Dzanani area flocked in numbers to witness this historic event. He was inaugurated three years after the death of his late father, Mutahabvu Vha-musanda Vho-Wilson Raliphaswa.

The chairperson of the Vhembe Congress of Traditional Leaders in South Africa, Vha-Musanda Vho-Tshizuwisa Robert Tshivhase, indicated during the inauguration that the headmanship should always be aligned with the local government. “I therefore urged Vha-Musanda Vho-Raliphaswa to always attend the IDP meetings at a local municipality for the development of the village.”

He further said that the community of Raliphaswa must also support the newly inaugurated headman for the development of the village. “As Vhembe Contralesa we are saying that development should not only be for urban areas, but also for people in rural areas. We want to see development in this village. We always encourage good relations between traditional leaders and the municipality,” Tshivhase said.

In an interview with Mirror, Vha-musanda Vho-Samuel Raliphaswa indicated that he was looking forward to be working together with the community members of Ha-Raliphaswa. He added that the community had to expect good things that he was planning to bring for the community in the village.

“I am also going to encourage traditional dances, to restore the traditional values of the Vha-Venda people,” he outlined, adding that he was also ready to work with the police in terms of reduction of crime in the village.