The mayor of Giyani, Cllr Doris Mathebula, issued a stern warning to her fellow councillors not to hang around the offices and do nothing. Cllr Mathebula was sworn in as new mayor for the municipality during a special council meeting held at Giyani community hall last Wednesday.

Speaking to a council chamber packed with members of all the opposition parties, ANC councillors and community observers, Mayor Mathebula said that many party representatives took their election for granted and relaxed in their offices while the poor suffered. “I want to indicate clearly that it won’t be business as usual with me. Everyone will have to get out of their offices and work for our people,” she said.

She urged opposition members to cooperate when it comes to rendering services to their people, saying: “You are all here because of your voters, irrespective of whether they are few or not, so let us respect them and put our differences aside when it comes to bringing them services.”

Mathebula’s appointment as mayor follows the resignation of Angie Ramaipadi in December last year as part of the ANC’s so-called redeployment programme. Since then, the mayoral post had been left vacant.

Mayor Mathebula said that the top priority at this stage is to address the shortage of water, a problem which has been haunting Giyani for some time now. “Fortunately, I have spent most of my years in Giyani. I know how it feels to stay in a house where there is no water. Let’s change Giyani for the better,” she told the audience.

In order to do this, she plans on inviting back all the professional people who have left Giyani to work in other big cities, saying: “We need their skills here at home, and therefore we have to find a way of making sure they want to come back to work here.”

She ended her speech with an appeal to all Giyani residents to attend municipal IDPs, saying this will afford them an opportunity to be part of the decision-making process. “Instead of letting others take decisions that might not suit you, get involved,” she said.