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Langeberg Municipality’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Schalk van Eeden, express grave concern about the low attendance rate of particularly Gr.12-learners at the five public high schools in the municipal area.

“We have seen that the average daily attendance rate for the Class of 2020 across the region is lower than 60% and at some schools it is even lower than 45%,” Alderman van Eeden said.

With less than two months to go before the national senior certificate exam, Alderman van Eeden called on parents and guardians to make sure that all learners who should be at school, are sent to school.

“COVID-19 had a very disruptive impact on all our lives but I am concerned about its impact on the academic calendar. Parents and guardians must ensure that all learners who should be in attendance, are at school. We can now not be the reason for further disruptions at our schools.”

Part of the All-in-School campaign that will be launched this week, would involve community policing forum members and ward committee members to help improve the school attendance rate when most grades return to school today.

“We need to get all our learners back in school and we need to take hands with everyone with a direct and indirect interest in the future of this area,” Alderman van Eeden concluded.

Veteran Councillor, Alderman Schalk van Eeden, has been elected as the new Executive Mayor for the Langeberg Municipality. Council casted their votes to fill the position of the Mayor during a special council meeting held on 14 August 2020, following the death of its former Mayor, Alderman Henry Jansen last month.

Van Eeden, who has been a member of the Langeberg Municipal Council since 2001 and served as Speaker of the council since 2016, thanked the councillors for the trust that they have placed in him, and indicated that the creation of a safer environment would be high on his priority list.

“There is a lot of work to be done, economic development to create more job opportunities for our communities, and the creation of a safe environment to live in, would be high on my priority list,” the new Executive Mayor said.

“COVID-19 has hit our region hard. People have lost their jobs and businesses are closing down. It is important that our people have work as it gives back their dignity to be able to provide for their families,” Executive Mayor ALD van Eeden said.

The Council meeting and inauguration of the new Executive Mayor was live streamed and can be viewed on the Langeberg Municipal official Facebook page.

In a historic step for the Langeberg Municipal Council, Councillor Pauline Hess was elected as its first female Speaker, this morning.

The position of Speaker became vacant last week when the former Speaker, Alderman Scalk van Eeden, was elected to the position of Executive Mayor.

Expressing her appreciation for the confidence and responsibility bestowed upon her, especially during Women’s Month, Speaker Hess promised to contribute meaningfully to the progress and success of the council and the administration.

“I have big shoes to fill and look forward to provide assistance to the Executive Mayor and work closely with ward committees and ward councillors to ensure that our work is done efficiently and effectively,” says Speaker Hess.

We are calling on the most inspiring and resilient entrepreneurs in the province to enter the annual Western Cape Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards (WCERA). 

Now in its 8th year, these annual awards celebrate the hard work of entrepreneurs and their contribution to job creation and economic growth in the Western Cape. Importantly also, the winning businesses will be awarded with prize money and business support services that will help them to sustain or expand their organisations.  

In June I visited Lufefe Nomjana, the CEO of Spinach King and one of the 2015 WCERA winners. Lufefe is an inspiring and passionate entrepreneur who has grown Spinach King into a successful health food business that supplies baked goods to retailers including Spar and Wellness Warehouse. The prize money awarded to Spinach King in 2015 helped Lufefe expand his business to open a second branch, increase production and hire more staff.

People like Lufefe are vitally important to the Western Cape economy and create much-needed jobs. They are role models in our community, and we need to do everything we can to support them. And so, I’d like to encourage all entrepreneurs, especially women and young people, to enter this year’s awards.

A total of R240,000 in prize money will be awarded to entrepreneurs across six categories, including: 

1. Emerging business
2. Women-owned business
3. Innovative business
4. Township business
5. Social enterprises
6. Youth-owned business

For more information and to enter, visit: www.wcentrepreneurshipawards.co.za. Entries close at midnight on 23 August 2020.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the resilience, innovation and bravery of entrepreneurs is more important than ever, and with initiatives like WCERA we will continue to support and encourage these entrepreneurs through these challenging times.