The executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), Dowelani Nenguda, has called on communities from Ha-Makuya and the surrounding villages to make use of government services that are available to the public at the re-opened Makuya Thusong Multi-Service Centre.
The centre, which opened in 2006, was forced to close in 2020 after being declared unsafe for use by government services such as Home Affairs, SASSA, LEDET, Social Development and Agriculture, among others, because the building was old, with the roof falling apart. The VDM invested more than R2,6 million in refurbishing the old and dilapidated centre, and on Thursday, 1 June, services that had been suspended for almost three years resumed operation.
Nenguda said other services were now found near the Makuya Thusong Centre as well that the communities could make use of, such as the Post Office, Traditional Council and the Makuya Police Station. "We want all government services as much under one roof as possible, so that the communities don't have to travel far distances to have access to such services," Nenguda said.
He also warned communities against vandalising the centre, saying that even when they became angry over certain service-delivery challenges, they must not destroy the infrastructure.
A traditional leader at Ha-Makuya Domboni village, Vhamusanda Muindathavha Nephawe, was very happy to learn that government services had been restored at the centre, and he urged his communities to make use of them regularly. "Our communities are situated in the deep rural areas, where most of the people are not working and cannot afford to travel far. As traditional leaders and custodians of the people, we will encourage residents in and around our village to make use of the refurbished Thusong Centre," he said.