This past financial year has seen efforts by the Municipality in harnessing the mood of our community in rebuilding our economy. Indeed the challenges that we have identified last financial year have been met to a certain extent and are as follows:

• To improve current payment levels so that we can build a financially sound Municipality much has been achieved in setting the Municipality on the right footing and much more still needs to be done.

• To improve service delivery, this Municipality is operating under difficult economic conditions where many residents are unemployed. Nevertheless, we have been able to provide services to all our communities where possible and further improvements have been undertaken, as well as new services have been offered to other areas.

• Challenges are still there and we will continue to strive for better service delivery. The recent development in customer satisfaction is the quality of the service we are supposed to provide that will build a lasting relationship.

• We have committed ourselves to improve maintenance of infrastructure and development thereof. Indeed, we have been able to improve on the maintenance of our infrastructure. We have seen sewerage and water pipes being replaced. There are some roads and streets which have been improved.

• This commitment will continue and improve, but one does not want to underestimate the backlog that we are facing in infrastructure maintenance and development. This Municipality will side by side with our District Municipality,

• Provincial and National Government, continue to invest in infrastructure development.

• Local Economic Development has been one of the important activities that the Municipality has undertaken. As we may all know, we have been suffering the economic depression for the past fourteen years. Indeed, for this Municipality to survive, we had to undertake certain actions in creating an environment that will be conducive to investment.

• The stability and partnership we have created with our people has resulted in the improvement of conditions and we have started to realise business operating in our area. The interaction with business community has started to bear fruits.

• The economic strategy of the Municipality, the five sector strategy, needs to be pursued in all fronts and much progress has been made in some components of the strategy.

• Community participation and consultation is the backbone of our local democracy. In this past financial year we have seen many activities where the community was engaged in various activities. This Municipality has created processes and mechanisms of interacting with our people. The continued participation of the community must be strengthened and this will be done through presentations in the various Portfolio Committees. With this partnership with our communities, we have seen many community organisations assisting Government in fighting the scourge of the HIV/AIDS and the continued support by some companies in sponsoring activities of these NGO's is well appreciated.

• This Municipality under these trying economic conditions will continue side by side with our communities to speed up changes, fight poverty and create a better life for all. In the coming financial year, we will be building on what we have already laid as a foundation and the departments will be more organised than before to meet these challenges.

I would like to thank the Speaker, Cllr Tsiu Matsepe, Mayoral Committee Members, Council, the Municipal Manager, Heads of Department and Municipal Employees for their dedication.