Ladysmith – Hundreds of Traditional Council’s Secretaries (TC Secretaries) rejoiced as the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, handed over tools of trade, marking a new chapter in their work.
Over 300 TC Secretaries from all Traditional Administration Centers in the province gathered in Ladysmith on where MEC Sithole-Moloi handed over the tools, stationery, and certificates of competency, as they had received training from the department to utilize the new equipment.
The essential tools included new laptops with routers for connectivity and packs of stationery. This will assist the TC Secretaries in improving efficiency in their work to support amakhosi and izinduna with administration in TACs and coordinate the work of the department. The Secretaries are regarded as one of the main pillars in the optimal functioning of amakhosi and izinduna. Part of their jobs includes keeping proper records and holding an annual meeting with their traditional community to give an account of the activities and finances of the traditional council.
Handing over the tools, MEC Sithole-Moloi said the vision is to develop TACs into service centers where people can visit to find assistance from government departments. Izinduna and amakhosi will have access to essential documents and correspondence from the department with the assistance of the secretaries using these new gadgets. MEC Sithole-Moloi also revealed that the department was looking into providing a Wi-Fi network to the TACs for the benefit of the communities to have access to information.
MEC Sithole-Moloi encouraged the TC Secretaries to work diligently to improve the services of the TAC.
“As the department, it has always been our vision to improve the work of the institution of traditional leadership. With these tools, we are hoping to restore the dignity of TC Secretaries. Some started as volunteers with nothing. But we pride ourselves as a department that we have come a long way in improving the work of the TC.
“This government made commitments to support the institutions of traditional leadership. This is part of our work. We want the TC Secretaries to be able to assist their respective communities and become service centers to bring government services closer to the people,” she said.
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the TC Secretaries, Nonhlanzeko Dlamini-Mkhize, Chairperson of the TC Secretaries, said the day marked a milestone in traditional leadership as they have never received this kind of assistance before.
“We are delighted by the commitment shown by the MEC. Under her stewardship, we have seen a great improvement, from increasing our stipend to receiving such valuable tools of trade. We are motivated, and we have committed to providing service to the people. We promise to be the agents of service delivery because of the support we have been receiving from the department,” she said.
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