Bloem to get its new name soon
2000-09-08 14:08
Bloemfontein - The new municipality which will combine Bloemfontein, Botshabelo
and Thaba 'Nchu is to be named by the end of the month, with the
most probable choice being Mangaung.
Bloemfontein city council chief executive officer Mojalefa Matlole
said on Friday the options currently being considered were
Mangaung, which means place of the cheetahs and Motheo, meaning
foundation.
Regulations announcing the name and number of councillors for the
new municipality will also be published by month-end.
Addressing a meeting in Bloemfontein, Matlole said one of
the first challenges to be addressed by the new city council would
be
to distribute the amalgamated budget equitably.
"It should be kept in mind that the cake is only a certain size and
the slices should therefore be cut ... with the emphasis on the
most
underdeveloped areas, in this instance Botshabelo and Thaba 'Nchu.
"Sustainable ways should be found to meet the communities' social,
economic and material needs and thereby improve the quality of
life," he said.
Matlole said one of the main aims of the recent municipal
demarcation process, which gave rise to the amalgamation of
numerous
municipalities countrywide, was to boost economic development in
poorer areas.
In the Free State, which currently had about 100 municipalities,
more than half were experiencing financial troubles, he told Sapa.
The number of councils is to be reduced to 25.
In the case of the new council, Bloemfontein's skills and
resources will be used to improve services to the poorer areas of
Botshabelo and Thaba 'Nchu.
One of the council's first objectives will be to improve revenue
collection in Botshabelo and Thaba 'Nchu.
It will also have to find ways of ending the decline of
the Bloemfontein. This is likely to include boosting visible
policing, reducing litter and formalising the hawker trade.
Matlole said the new council would seek to boost economic
development by, among other things, encouraging the creation of
small
and medium enterprises.
Marketing the city's tourism attractions, espeially its wealth of
historical sites, will also form part of this process.
"It is important for business and industry to realise that the
council cannot achieve economic development and upliftment on its
own," Matlole said.
He described the amalgamation as a challenge, but one which was
sure
to yield economic and social improvements.
"Surely, there will be hiccups in the short term, but it will be
managed in the most effective and economic way to reach
long-lasting
benefits," he said.- Sapa
- SAPA