INTERIM COMMUNITY COUNCILS TO COMMENCE WORK

the Local Government department in Quthing will conduct a series of public gatherings within 20 local government constituencies to give the  interim community authority time  to commence work from Monday 21 October,2002.

In an interview, the District Rural Development Assistant, Mrs. Nts'uoa Makhutla, said the gatherings are meant to give the councils authority to commence work, while measures to undergo training are in the pipeline. She said the public gatherings would focus on developmental activities to be undertaken by the councils, handing over of development councils' assets, and relations of the interim councils with chiefs, public servants and the community.

Activities to be undertaken by the councils include; protection of natural resources, allocation of cemetery and residential sites, environment protection and range management", she said. She stated that the village development councils were terminated last year under legal notice No. 176, while the interim community councils were also nominated under the same legal notice to take over activities that were
carried out by the latter.

Mrs. makhutla pointed out that the councils have been nominated at 19 local government constituencies, and the number of villages per constituency determines the number of councils in each constituency. The interim community councils have been nominated from all the districts, and they have been published on legal notice No. 59 of 2002 with effect from April this year.

14 October,2002