June 14, 2005
By Anish Abraham
AN UNUSUAL celebration took place at the Westcliff Hotel in Parktown on 13 June, when about 70 Joburg councillors were recognised for their efforts to improve their skills.
Council Speaker Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, trainers, colleagues and friends attended the event. The councillors studied courses in business communication, business English, public speaking and basic Zulu.
The skills upgrade programme, under the Office of the Speaker, is aimed at improving the capacity of councillors. "Such courses are needed to ensure quality service for the electorate as well as to develop better councillors," Mayathula-Khoza said.
One of the facilitators of the programme, Lisel Erasmus-Kritzinger, said such programmes enabled councillors to communicate with confidence and with a strategy, which persuaded people to buy into their message.
The programme has been running since 2001 but this was the first time the councillors had received public recognition, said Mayathula-Khoza. It was decided to honour those who had made sacrifices so they could improve their skills.
Some councillors undertook short courses, while others were completing diplomas and bachelor and master degrees. The Speaker urged them not only to use their newly gained skills better to serve the City of Johannesburg, but also to develop themselves and to continue learning.
On Monday 70 councillors graduated, while others were given special awards for excellence, lifelong learning and teamwork.
Class of 2005: some of the councillors who graduated
Motivational speeches by Helen Nicholson and Renalte Volpe of HIRS Women's Development Consultancy, and Dr John Tibane were part of the festivities.
The HIRS Women's Development Consultancy aims to help women compete more efficiently in the workplace.
Tibane is a former surgeon who started by telling the participants he realised his real passion was "not injecting people with penicillin, but with knowledge".
He presented a two-hour leadership workshop in which he encouraged the councillors to live up to the potential inside.
Kritzinger-Erasmus has secured sponsorship for 100 women to undergo courses free of charge, and has asked the Office of the Speaker to assist in identifying potential candidates.
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