There was a sense of joy and appreciation when Ward 99 councillor Lonwabo Mluleki Mqina held a thanksgiving ceremony in Khayelitsha last Saturday.
Mr Mqina slaughtered a cow and six sheep for the community to feast on. Cold and rainy weather did not deter young and old from attending the ceremony.
Mr Mqina, who was among the newly elected councillors in last year’s local government election, said it was essential for him to say thank you to the community for entrusting him to lead and drive development in this ward.
He assured the community he will be a driving force in bringing change in their community.
As a ward councillor, he said he represents the interests of the community whether they belonged to a different party or not. He said through the ceremony he hoped to clean out any divisions and bring sense of unity.
Now, he believes, is no time for politicking but time to bring change and services.
He said it is within our culture to slaughter a cow when saying thank you for whatever reason.
He urged the community to work with him and said the journey to bringing services will not be a smooth sailing process.
“We must not only say thank you to our people when we need votes. I wanted to say to them that thank you for deploying me to bring services in this community. I’m only interested in bringing change and not fighting. During my tenure I want to bring positivity in this area. But I can only do that if the community is rallying behind me.“
He pleaded with community leaders and any stakeholders to put their differences aside and channel their energies in bringing service delivery.
Thanduxolo Ntshantsha, who has been living in the area for over a two decades, said it was the first time that he had seen such a thing.
He said he does not belong to any political party but he believes in this ward councillor.
He described Mr Mqina as someone who is approachable and who seems truly dedicated in uplifting the ward.
He urged the community to give him a chance to execute his duties.
ANC caucus leader in the City of Cape Town, Xolani Sotashe, applauded what the ward councillor had done for the community.
He said this also brings social cohesion and unites the community despite their differences.
He said such gatherings make an impassioned plea to the community to stand together and work for the better of this ward.
