15 Nov 2022

Sankoyo residents are calling for the good old days when they used to receive household dividends, destitute allowance and food packages for the elderly.

They made the call during a meeting organised by the Sankoyo Tshwaragano Management Trust board of trustees.

Residents urged board of trustees members to introspect and come up with interventions that would take their trust to its glory days.

Board members had organised the meeting to solicit ideas and suggestions that could help them to operate better.

Residents said management used to consult them, but stated that things have changed due to boards internal fights and the mismanagement of assets.

They also said previous boards had vision and prioritised the community’s interest unlike the current board members who had hidden agendas.

Residents urged the board to work as a team and to run the trust prudently as well as ensuring that residents benefitted from the community based natural resources management programme.

One of the residents, Ms Sebopiwa John said the trust was marred by chaos because of some young people and urged the board to introspect and implement the mandate of the trust. “We expect you to work as a unit and make sound decisions for the best interest of the community and not to prioritise your personal interests,” she said.

Mr Nkokelang Ntongwane also said the board was failing the community, noting that every household used to benefit from the trust. He advised board members to ensure that their business partners fulfilled their contractual obligations. He also accused some safari companies doing business with the trust of failing to deliver as promised. He added that Sankoyo residents were given low paying jobs while companies brought their own personnel to occupy high posts.

He also complained that community assets were not taken care of, saying vehicles had lost value because they were not serviced as scheduled.

Kgosi Gokgathang Moalosi of Sankoyo also said the trust used to be amongst the top performing in the country and that good governance was lacking in the current board.

He said conflicts among board members bred maladministration and urged the board to correct its mistakes.

“We are concerned with indiscipline and lack of respect. We are forced to reprimand some people at the kgotla, and I urge the community and the board to introspect with the aim to improve the way we have been doing things,” he said.

The trust manager, Mr Galesengwe Haku explained that the bulk of the trusts budget was channelled towards operations. He also said they continued to empower the youth through initiatives such as scholarships, but decried inadequate funds to assist all. He noted that this year they received 64 applications while their budget stood at P100 000 and was only enough to cater for seven applicants. He said they used to undertake projects in the village such as construction of toilets and connection of water taps as well as offering livelihood programmes, but that the situation has changed due to budget constraints. ENDS