He told THEM to get used to saying, "I LOVE YOU" because that does not make them weak or any less of a man!

APART from being a Municipal Manager for the Greater Kokstad Municipality, Mr. Sipho Raymond Zwane also plays a pivotal role in advocating for stronger family bonds in the society of Kokstad.

He promotes love among families and champions that families build and develop, hearts of gold, and for fathers/husbands to love their children and wives no matter how their background and situations are. Zwane said that it is important to love their families and learn to sound out how much they love them and look them straight in the eyes when they do so.

Mr. Zwane further told a tear-jerking story that some fathers are lucky to have experienced raising their sons and have an opportunity of engaging with them daily. "But in my case, I was very unfortunate to grow up without having spent any time with my father...I could only look at him for the first time, quietly from his coffin" said Mr. Zwane.

He urged that fathers who have an opportunity to stay with their families should be grateful.

"Use that opportunity as fathers to embrace families with love rather than becoming monsters in your homes," he said.

Mr. Zwane was speaking during a fathers and sons social evening programme organized by the Nomzamo Primary School in Shayamoya. The programme was meant to encourage parents, especially fathers, that they should fully become part of the school projects and attend meetings regularly.

Just before the event started, the fathers entered the venue in style by walking and holding hands with their sons as a sign of showing love.

Mr. Zwane cautioned men to refrain from being absent fathers because in some instances their sons wish their dads had stayed in the shebeens or at their workplaces because they (Kids) do not want them to come back home because of the way they disrupt the home when they are around.

"Our kids should want us to spend the longest time with them but based on our tendencies of becoming monsters at home, they wish we could no longer come back home. Let us not create a space where our sons will adopt celebrity fathers as their role models, they must love us the way we are," said Mr. Zwane.

He said he understood that life is tough these days as some fathers are suffering from depression since they are not working but to give love to your family is effortless and very important.

He said he understood why most fathers find it difficult to tell their wives that they love them: "it is because of our background, we were raised by our parents, and it was not normal back then to show love to your wife in front of children".

He said parents should learn to be role models to their children, to fill the void where their children choose celebrities to be their role models instead of them.  "You must see a queen when you look at your wife and not see punching bags..." said Mr. Zwane.

Fathers that were part of the occasion appreciated having such a fruitful engagement. 

By Andile Moshoeshoe

Voting is a fundamental act of civic participation, through which people contribute to democracy.

Political efficacy is the belief that voting matters and makes a difference and in turn, voter apathy is a decline in political efficacy, the lack of interest is very prominent now more than ever as there is a global decline in voting among millennials, this is because of their lack of interest in politics altogether.

According to STATS SA, people under the age of 29 years constitute almost 22% of the voting community, and research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) shows that the youth feel isolated from formal politics, have little or no trust in politicians and have had negative experiences from the government.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) held a round table discussion with the youth enrolled at Esayidi TVET college in Kokstad, where they were supported by the SAPS, DCS, Love Life, GKM Local Economic Development and the Municipality's Youth Desk, Child Welfare as well Gender Equity and LGBTQ+ rights activist, the Department of Social Development, Creative Art Zone, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Department of Labour. The discussion was to not only educate the youth on why it is important to vote but try to understand why the young feel the way they do about voting, the challenges they face, and what they feel should change.

The Municipal Manager of the Greater Kokstad Municipality, Mr. Raymond Sipho Zwane addressed the students and said that the freedom, liberation, and other rights they enjoy in this country right now did not fall from the sky, people fought and died for the democratic state South Africans live in and that the students should not take that for granted. Zwane said that they cannot complain about job opportunities, potholes, and other problems in the town if they are not willing to vote and take the first step in trying to change the situation.

"For your sake and the sake of your future children, do not just think of voter registration as just a tool to gain access to a proof of residence document, but as taking the first step in participating in the democratic voting process so that when it is time for elections you can vote for the party or leader of your choice. Please vote responsibly," urged Mr. Zwane

Mr. Musa Khumalo from the IEC also addressed the students saying that there are many people who should register with the IEC so they can be on the voters' roll. He said that the amount of money a municipality is allocated is based on the number of registered persons in each ward and that the Municipal Demarcation Board also uses those numbers to redraw ward boundaries every five years. Wards can also be added, said Khumalo, or municipalities promoted to Metros based on registered voters.

"Please register to vote, as it is very important. Youth voting in numbers can sway an election. Change can only happen if the youth stop sitting back and start acting. Those who dread standing in long queues can register now online. There are no excuses," said Mr. Khumalo

In the computer-literate world of today, there is no reason not to vote just because one does not know enough about a political party. In fact, getting away from the daily political news can be harder than subscribing. People the world over live in an era where Twitter is the preferred means of communication for many political leaders. It has become as important as a party's website for disseminating information on related issues.

Today's online environment allows young voters to get a complete picture of candidates and their platforms in the various media platforms they are familiar with. Voting can steer political parties in the right direction, even better to the direction young people want. The involvement of youth in politics energizes the political landscape and propels the country in a new and fresh direction which in turn inspires and benefits the next generation.

Youth votes can have a huge impact. Increasing youth voter turnout is very important. Millennials need to keep up with the voting process and never let go. In this way, they will grow into well-informed and empowered citizens, and the voting culture should not die out. Instead, it should continue to grow and make South Africa a country that is purposeful.

By Kamvalethu Xhelithole

DESPITE the recently damaged road network infrastructure owing to the recent heavy rains due to global warming, the Greater Kokstad Municipality Mayor is not resting on his laurels as he has already set up his service delivery diary meant to tackle service delivery projects that are a threat to the town's economy and the community head on.

Part of the infrastructural projects topping the list of the agenda includes the roads, which need to be improved in Kokstad as the town is the economic hub of the Harry Gwala District, which also connects both KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces, and is a gateway to the neighbouring country of Lesotho.

The Mayor, Councillor MNL Madikizela also confirmed this during an exclusive interview with GKM VOICE that the issue of roads damaged by the heavy rains and the outstanding roads projects are causing sleepless nights to the leadership of the Municipality, but they have already started handing over sites (see pictures) to the recently appointed contractors to start refurbishing the roads.

He added they will also be focussing on the cleanliness of the town, since it is the face of the district and services communities of both Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. 

Cllr Madikizela further vowed that they will ensure enough capacity is put in place in the Municipality's quest to ensure that the town of Kokstad and its neighbouring area is clean, to usher in the spin-offs of attracting new investments.

"We need to go back to the time when our town used to scoop awards for being one of the cleanest towns in the KwaZulu Natal," said Cllr Madikizela.

He added that the third challenge in his diary is to declare war on potholes in the Kokstad Central Business District (CBD), adding that this falls under road infrastructure maintenance. 

He however apologised for the delays in the rehabilitation of Hope Street as the contractor, Rorisang was supposed to have commenced with the upgrade of the road but technical processes by the Department of Transport were beyond the Municipality's control.

"We expect the contractor to be on-site very soon because the road is the face of the town used by motorists travelling from KwaZulu Natal to Eastern Cape and the neighbouring Drakensberg," he said.

However, the site handover and the introduction of the contractor for the revamp of Hawthorn Street has been undertaken, said the Mayor, adding that similar processes have been undertaken for the upgrade of identified roads in Ward 5 and Ward 8.

Cllr Madikizela also revealed that the R1 million donation, which was the prize money for the number of awards scooped by the Municipality has been redirected into refurbishing Wild Road.

He however said they will continue ensuring maintenance of other roads falling in the budget cycle earmarked for the next financial year.   

Back to School Campaign

The Mayor, Cllr Madikizela has sent commendations and congratulatory messages to those of the class of 2022 that performed in the matric examinations. The Mayor also encouraged those that did not do well to not despair but instead to keep on trying as education does not have an age limit.

He further quoted the words of the late political icon, Dr Nelson Mandela, who once said that: "Education is the most powerful weapon which one can use to change the world."

Cllr Madikizela added that a country that faces electricity and infrastructure challenges needs educated people for its betterment.

He added that they would continue visiting schools that will be identified by the office of the Youth Manager to assist where needed in terms of the clean-up campaigns, which is in line with ensuring the promotion of the preservation of the environment. 

Cllr Madikizela said they will be mainly focusing on disadvantaged schools and that there is also a programme of donating school uniforms and other related school items to the needy learners at these schools.

"No soft gloves on crime"

The Mayor, Cllr Madikizela put his head on the chopping block and stressed that over his dead body he would allow vagrants to take over and control his town through acts of criminality.

"In this case, we have partnered with private security companies to work hand in hand with us in ensuring a crime-free Kokstad", said Cllr Madikizela.

He said there would be regular patrols in hotspot areas to deal head-on with any criminal-related elements, to ensure that their mission of a safe environment is accomplished.

"We have partnered with the Department of Social Development to profile the vagrants but while profiling them, they will be sent back to their places of origin," said Mayor Cllr Madikizela.

He emphasised that in the process of chasing them away, they will not treat them with soft gloves...otherwise, Kokstad will be a den of iniquity as it appears that the town has become a haven for vagrants.  

"Surveillance cameras will be installed to ensure that everything is monitored in the town," he said.

Financial Viability  

Apart from the above-mentioned challenges, the Mayor of Kokstad, Cllr Madikizela, has revealed that the only way to defeat all the challenges is to ensure that their Municipality is financially viable.

"While we shall be dealing with the challenges mentioned above, we need to enhance our revenue collection to strengthen the capacity of our Municipality," said Cllr Madikizela

Moreover, he said the Municipality has not been recruiting general workers since 2016, meaning that the Municipality's capacity to deliver services is under strain.

He said they are also looking at improving the audit outcomes from the current unqualified audit opinion to a clean audit.

The Greater Kokstad Municipality continues to strengthen programmes of putting women first.

This was further made evident when the Municipality held a women's commission workshop last month.

The workshop was an intimate, powerful and insightful session, which zoomed into all challenges faced by women and proceeded to seek methods of delving into each of the challenges to ensure that they deal with them head-on.

The commission comprises women in leadership within the Greater Kokstad Municipality and different key sector departments participated in the commission and presented their inputs.

The woman at the forefront of the session, Esethu Nkaule, the Municipality's gender officer explained the reasons for the event. She said it was to perform a capacity-building workshop for the women's commission.

Speaking during the event, Nkaule said: "attendees are expected to impart knowledge specifically to empower women in leadership on matters that they face collectively daily".

The event was graced by the Municipality's Deputy Mayor, Councillor Karen Walker; Cllr Zodidi Tshazi who is the Chairperson of the Women's Commission, the GKM Communications and Inter-Government Relations, Mrs N Matshoba. Also in attendance were Dr N Mxhalisa, Miss Mhlongo and Miss Madlala from the Department of Social Development, Ms Gonxeka from Old Mutual, Ms L Ntoa – a seasoned Motivational speaker who is also an entrepreneur and a pharmacist who owns several pharmacies in Kokstad.

Nkaule appreciated the attendance of high-profile people in the municipal area. "This is a sign of appreciating women's existence, inputs and their challenges," said Nkaule.

The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Walker did not waste time in addressing gender inequality citing that men are always put first, either in positions or in almost everything making them powerful and in control. While urging women to stand tall against the adversities they face because they are tantamount to "slavery" as men will always compel most women to submit to them.

"Women must take back their voice and space wherever they are," said the Deputy Mayor.

Speaking about Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the Deputy Mayor defined it as a harmful act committed against any person or group based on their gender.

Meanwhile, the representatives from the Department of Social Development stressed that GBV happens to everyone, but is more prominent among women and children, which is why every year South Africa and the rest of the world promotes 16 Days of Activism Against Women and Children Abuse which is a campaign that intensely pushes the support to end harmful and criminal activities against women and children.

Ms Mhlongo from the Department of Social Development said: "The abuse can be emotional, physical, financial or psychological, while her colleague Dr Mxhalisa cautioned women to look after their health, as most have become victims of various diseases due to family dynamics and the challenges they have to overcome, including GBV.

She revealed that most people dying in hospitals are women, with heart-related diseases. "Another disease ravaging women is cancer and I urge all women not to ignore any signs no matter how small or unimportant it looks but people must consult doctors and undergo regular check-ups," added Dr Mxhalisa.

Another important challenge, which dominated the event was the physical abuse that women endure in marriages which ultimately creates broken communities as this automatically infiltrates a wrong belief and mindset in children, that it is correct to abuse women.

Women are advised not to try to tolerate any acts of GBV, no matter what the circumstances are because it would become a norm in the family and negatively affects the upbringing of children.