CONNECTIssue 05

Internal Staff Newsletter

#RespekTheDoek

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#3August2016 #AsambeKe

Editors NoteKhanya Kalashe

#RespekTheDoekA challenge in our circleSouth Africans have come out strong on social media to celebrate the head-wrap as a symbol of

their "Africanness". This follows a controversial dubbed Doekgate.

eNCA Senior Reporter, Ntobekho Sibisi alleged

that a story she was working on for Africa Day

was canned because she appeared in the insert

wearing a head-wrap. She expressed her

disappointment that a story that was about

celebrating African excellence was taken off air.

With that said, why do YOU wear a #Doek?

Is it a cultural, race, language or religious

influence or something else? And where do

you draw the line? e.g Can you attend

meetings wearing a doek? Have your say

and you could be our first prize winner.

New look, new feel! At least, that’s how I’d

like to think about the new “B – Connect”

internal staff newsletter. The main idea

behind the concept is to try and personalise

the newsletter with familiar faces, resulting

in a more interactive and appealing

newsletter for everyone. Generally, we have

a "young" institution with all sorts of

dynamics which make it interesting - hence

the reason for the new design. In this

quarter, we place our focus on the

upcoming local government elections.

‘Are you ready to make your mark on the

3rd of August?’ Is the question you’ll

need to answer for yourself. In other

news, we’d like to know your view on

what constitutes #RespekTheDoek in a

corporate environment? Is it related to

culture, religion, race or something else?

With that said, I hope you enjoy reading

it as much as I enjoyed compiling this

edition.

By Zukiswa Zimela (Destiny) Edited by Khanya Kalashe

In an interview with 702’s Xolani Gwala, eNCA

Editor-in-Chief Anton Harber said he had no

problem with what Sibisi was wearing, adding

that the incident had raised a sensitive

issue, which necessitated a policy review.

South Africans called for the channel to respect

the doek, using the hashtag #RespekTheDoek.

Men and women posted pictures of themselves

wearing some form of headgear, calling for the

channel to respect their Africanness.

Email your opinion to kkalashe@sbdm.co.za and stand yourself a chance towin OUR FIRST PRIZE!!

important expression of your heritage and it is

always fitting to grace traditional events

wearing one."

On the other hand, we all have bad hair days,

and to keep it hidden away we just bring out

the doek as our fashion piece or statement,

making it a fashion convenience as well.” she

added.

When Nolusindiso Hleko, NMMU Masters

student, was asked about the headpiece she

said,' the item is associated with being an

ConnectVoice Column

South Africa has seen massive

transformation in all sporting codes

throughout the last few months and with the

doek in question as a professional gear or

not, can we safely say that we're moving

towards a free transformed African country?

MANDELADAY

By: Khanya Kalashe

Sarah Baartman District Municipality employees embarked on a Mandela day public participation

programme that took place on the 18th of July 2016 at Sundays River Valley Local Municipality in

Glenconnor.

The day started off with loud cheers and praises

from the children who were so eager to have their

class painted and of-course a good slice of cake to

accompany the excitement. Amongst the SBDM

officials was the Portfolio Councilor for Tourism

and Creative Industries, Mr Zamuxolo Peter, who

enjoyed the company of the elderly while sharing a

slice of cake and engaging on community based

challenges. The two projects of the day included,

painting the Grade R class with a touch of green

and yellow, while the other project was aimed at

cleaning the satellite clinic which was donated by

the institution a few years ago.

Special Programmes Unit Officer, Mr Luvuyo

Madlakana, led the team on a very successful

programme that touched the hearts of our own

community residents. When asked why that

area was chosen for the project, he

said, "Sometimes its not about the area you

choose but about what needs to be done

to live up to the mandate given to us by our

people, for our people". Nelson Mandela

International Day was launched in recognition

of Nelson Mandela’s birthday on the 18th of

July 2009 via a unanimous decision of the UN

General Assembly.

Sundays River ValleyLocal Municipality

Riebeeck EastLibrary Opening

By: Khanya Kalashe

MEC for the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Dr Pemmy Majodina, together with

the Sarah Baartman District Municipality and Makana Local Municipality officially opened a new

library in Riebeeck East on the 7th of July 2016. The new library was named in honour of the late

Edna Fortuin and was built by the Sarah Baartman District Municipality.

'Learning is an art that can never be bought by

anyone' said the energetic MEC, Dr Pemmy

Majodina at the official launch of the Edna

Fortuin Library in Riebeeck East.

Among those that attended the auspicious event

was the Executive Mayor, Khunjuzwa Eunice

Kekana, Speaker of the Makana Local

Municipality, Cllr Vara and the Hourable Mayor

of Makana, Cllr Gaga. The program kicked off

with the choir singing both anthems (SA

National Athem & AU Anthem), which then

proceeded to the unveiling of the plaque.

Mayor of Makana, Cllr Gaga then had the

honour of cutting the ribbon which saw the

doors being open for the community.

At the same event, the SBDM Executive

Mayor had the pleasure of handing over fire

equipment to the Makana Local Municipality and

said, "This equipment is meant to ensure that all

our facilities are protected from what could be a

possible threat to our children's future".

The main event took place inside the community

adjacent hall that was filled to its maximum

capacity. Although the library opening was primari

ly targeted at the youth, a large number of the

elderly people participated in the event. The

MEC noted that she was pleased

with the turnout at the event.

Proceedings came to a close and everyone

departed in high spirits.

'NEHAO' 早上Jet - lagged for who?

Ms Theo Betha

The Chinese government together with the South African government signed the “Nuclear Energy Peaceful Use Agreement”

in June 2006. Subsequently, the two governments signed a “Memorandum of Energy Cooperation" in 2010, which laid a good

foundation for nuclear power cooperation between the two countries.

The Chinese Government proposed the establishment

of a training cooperative agreement between the two

countries. Recently, PMU Manager, Theodora Betha,

was among 50 participants that visited China on a

nuclear power plant study programme that will benefit

South African communities, in particular the Camdeboo

Local Municipality. According to Betha, "The Coega

Development Corporation (CDC) received an invitation

to participate in phase II of the Nuclear Training

programme and extended the invitation to its key

provincial stakeholders. The CDC explores opportunities

related to the Nuclear Energy sector through

relationships with key industry role-players. The CDC

invited SBDM on the 9th of November 2015 to nominate

a young professional, with at least one year work

experience. Among the 50 participants that were invited,

she was accompanied by representatives

from the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality and Kouga

Local Municipality. In a recent interview with B-Connect,

Betha shared her experience as a nominated delegate

from SBDM. "The study programme was broken down

into 10 groups. I formed part of the construction

technology group," she said. She attended a series of

lectures and was exposed to the 'cap 400' nuclear plant,

which is currently in its production stages in Shanghai. On

the lighter side of things, Betha woke up very early in the

morning to try her hand at the popular Chinese exercise

called "thaj", which is similar to tai-bo. Asked if she would

ever go back to China she replied with enthusiasm, "Yes i

would but if there's one thing i will never miss, it is the

food". The training programme went on for just over 2

weeks. With that said, B-Connect congratulates her on a

job well done.

ARE YOU READY? By: Khanya Kalashe

The Sarah Baartman District Municipality, together with the Eastern Cape Legislature Offices, has embarked on a voters education programme in Camdeboo.

The area has been identified as one of the 'lowest voter turnout' areas in the Eastern Cape province. One of the common reasons behind this problem is

that voters are not well informed before they have to take to the polls.

The importance of voter and civic education during an

election year cannot be overstated. Such initiatives

assist voters in better understanding their rights and

responsibilities, as well as giving them sufficient

knowledge about the country’s election process and

political system. Voters can then understand the value

of democracy, the impact it has on the system of

government, and how it can be used to address the

economic, social and political challenges facing the

nation. In a recent interview with Ndlambe fm,SBDM

Speaker of Council, Deon De Vos said,"In the run-up

to the 2014 elections, the Independent Electoral

Commission (IEC) made an effort to ensure that

eligible voters, and specifically young, first-time

voters, get registered. The voter education

programme is one of their initiatives in making

sure our people are well informed before taking

on the polls". He then added, "Young South

Africans need to be sufficiently knowledgeable

and informed to cast their votes and participate

meaningfully in the voting process.

STILL I RISE#InspiredToConquer

By Khanya Kalashe

B - ConnectWarrior of the Week

Born and bread in the upper valley of the Great Fish River (Cradock), just 250 kilometers northeast of Port Elizabeth, hails a woman who

takes pride in her upbringing. Many will know her as 'Khanyisa' Stemele, a customary name given to her by her in-laws in 2004 and some

will refer to her as 'Nolwayiphi' Mzimkulu. In a recent interview with B-connect, Stemele shared a life-time testimony that seeks to challenge

and motivate 'unemployed youth graduates' within the institution.

Growing up in a christian home and being the

brightest in the family, Stemele had hopes of

becoming one of South Africa's first black

scientists. Little did she know that things

would take a wrong turn after she fell

pregnant with her first daughter, just

moments before enrolling into the University

of Port Elizabeth, which is now known as

NMMU.

This ordeal came with great challenges as

she could no longer enroll herself into the

institution and felt it necessary to find a job in

PE after conceiving her baby.

More challenges queued up as she heavily

relied on her baby's father for assistance,

who also didn't earn that much at the time.

Despite her family's disappointment, her

mother was the only token of strength she

could fall back on. With this said, Stemele

was motivated to assist her husband and got

her first job as a waitress at a coffee shop in

Summerstrand. She later joined a security

company that had an ongoing contract

with the Cacadu District Municipality at the

time. The company was called

Nomathamsanqa and was owned by Nomtha

Stemele and Pauline Nkwinti at the time. With

the new job came greater responsibilities so I

started looking out for other opportunities. "I

was fortunate enough to get a new job as an

operator at DNB wiring," she said

proudly. However, she was retrenched not long

after she obtained the new job. Stemele opted

to get married and rather raise her children as

a housewife until her marriage

took unbearable strain and she was forced to

get a job. After numerous applications she

eventually got employed as a tea lady at the

erstwhile Cacadu District Municipality and was

then later promoted to an Archives Clerk.

Stemele is now prepared to go back to

school and finish what she had started

years back. "I'm now a mother of three

and a woman amongst other women,"

she concluded with a giggle.

ConnectPutting People First

Principle's We ShareBy: Graham Terblanche

To promote this notion of “putting people first” and

to provide a framework for the transformation of

public service delivery, government introduced the

concept of Batho Pele, “people first” in 1997. This

notion was expanded in the White Paper on

Transforming the public service, also known as the

Batho Pele White Paper, which provides a policy

framework to ensure that Batho Pele is woven into

the very fabric of government

Simply stated, Batho Pele is an initiative to get

public servants to be service orientated, to strive

for excellence in service delivery and to commit to

continuous service delivery improvement. It is a

simple, transparent mechanism, which allows

customers to hold public servants accountable for

the type of services they deliver.

The Batho Pele White Paper signalled very

strongly government’s intention to adopt a citizen-

orientated approach to service delivery, informed

by the eight principles of consultation, service

standards, access, courtesy, information,

openness and transparency, redress and value

for money.

In a genuinely competitive commercial market,

private companies cannot afford

to ignore the needs and wishes of their

customers if they want to stay in business,

because dissatisfied customers can choose to

take their business elsewhere. Knowing

what the customer wants and providing it

quicker, better and cheaper than your

competitors, is essential to business success.

As competitive companies worldwide

soon discover, 'the customer comes first' is not

an empty slogan but a fundamental

business principle. By contrast citizens, as the

'customers' of public services, cannot choose

to take their business elsewhere.

For example, any South African who wants a

passport has no alternative but to apply to the

Department of Home Affairs. Many public

services are not paid for directly by individual

'customers', and national and

provincial departments which fail to satisfy their

'customers' do not go out of business.

Moreover, many public services, such as revenue

collection or the imposition of law and order are not

'services' but are regulatory in function.They are

accepted by citizens as essential safeguards of a

civilized society in which the vulnerable

are protected and all citizens have equal

opportunity for economic and social

development.

The concept of the citizen as a 'customer' may

therefore seem inappropriate at

first sight. 'Customer' is nevertheless a useful

term in the context of improving service delivery

because it embraces certain principles which are

as fundamental to public service delivery.

Santam launches fire preventionto Kouga Local Municipality

By: Charl Bosch

As part of its contribution to International Mandela Day, short term insurer Santam, in partnership with the South African Local Government Association

(SALGA) and the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, handed over a number of smoke detectors at the municipality’s head office in Port Elizabeth on 22

July, as part of a pilot project set to commence in the Kouga Local Municipality.

Speaking to Sarah Baartman News after the formal

handover, Santam Stakeholder Relations Head John

Lomberg said the detectors would be handed over to

vulnerable communities in Cape St Francis, in

response to the area often being affected by

devastating fires.

He confirmed that a total of 252 out of the 798

detectors would be implemented as part of the pilot,

With the help of the municipality who

identified the potential hotspots in the

respective informal settlements, we hope

to reduce the risk of fires in these areas

and also to highlight the dangers of how

smoking affects communities with regards

to fires.

with the eventual project rollout set to start in early

2017. "As part our partnership with SALGA,

training will be provided to communities as to what

they can expect with the smoke detectors, and we

will also monitor and track progress over the next

three months before rolling the programme out

nationally,” Lomberg said.

Connect#StayInformed

For more information or anysuggestions please contact theeditor on:

Khanya Kalashe Public Relations Tel: 041 508 7192Cell: 079 525 5140Email: kkalashe@sbdm.co.za