FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER 2023
With only a few days left until Christmas, and with the festive season underway, I would like to take the opportunity to convey a special message to everyone in the area of the Theewaterskloof Municipality.
There are many visitors and I trust they enjoy the natural beauty of Theewaterskloof and all its people. There are also permanent residents who are preparing for the great anniversary of Jesus’ birthday. There is indeed a wonderful festive atmosphere in the air.
We are also approaching the end of a year that has placed many demands on our municipality, our communities, and its people. The matriculants finished with the exams and, as always, the Overberg schools expect top results. The schools and other training centres have closed, and the young people are enjoying a welcome holiday. Many of us are still working and many are on leave.
As always, this time of year, the municipality’s offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day. However, the necessary arrangements have been made for service delivery to continue uninterrupted and at our high levels of excellence. I thank everyone in the government who will remain on duty throughout to provide essential services, such as water, electricity, sewage services, waste management as well as traffic and law enforcement.
I would like to thank all our partners such as Overberg Water, ESKOM, ‘Working on Fire’ and the National Department of Water and Sanitation for their cooperation over the past year. Overberg and specifically Theewaterskloof were hit hard throughout the year by floods, winds, and disaster situations. In some places you will see remnants of these events. On the other hand, everything is cleaned up. A few months ago, part of the N2 washed away and people could not follow the route to and from the Overberg. The road has since been repaired and the same applies to the road to the Overstrand, the Hemel-en-Arde route. Thanks to another national government agency, SANRAL, roads under their control were repaired in record time.
Regarding the winter challenges and all other common threats, I would also like to thank the Overberg District Municipality, the Western Cape Government as well as the National Government for the intergovernmental cooperation. Money, to get things done, is always a challenge, but with partnerships, collaboration and the sharing of expertise and resources, we were able to accomplish many challenges with few funds. We have learned that smart work, creativity, innovation and working outside the conventions of the proverbial ‘box’ create success that cannot be achieved with all the money in the world.
There is indeed much for which we can be thankful. Like our dedicated staff. Our public who are always willing to walk the miles with us. The Council that disagrees on many things but pulls together when it comes to the interests of the people. We are grateful for the coalition government between the ANC, GOOD and the PA which has proven wrong the negative myths that coalition governments cannot work in South Africa. I thank the coalition for their insight and support to the administration.
It’s Christmas – it’s a time for reflection. It is a time to be grateful and to count the blessings and know that the gifts we receive from His hand are so much greater than the burdens in our lives. Christmas is a time for family and friends to find each other again. Christmas is a time for love and to be good to ourselves and others.
Christmas is a time to praise the Heavenly Father with words and song, and with deeds and actions. Christmas is a time to show Him that we carry and live the Love of Jesus in us. Christmas is a time to find gratitude for everything we are given.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and pray that a Heavenly silence will come over everyone.
The new year will bring new challenges and new insights and solutions. We will apply the lessons of 2023 in the new year. I also wish everyone a prosperous 2024.
End
Issued by: Communications Department, Theewaterskloof Municipality
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