The Mayor of Mbhashe Local Municipality, Councillor Samkelo Janda, recently handed over and officially opened the refurbished Dutywa Town Hall.
The refurbishment aimed to revitalise the Town Hall, ensuring that it meets modern standards while preserving its cultural and architectural heritage.
The refurbished facility now includes office space, public ablution facilities, a guardhouse, Jojo tanks, and a boardroom, among other features. As part of the municipality’s job creation efforts, a total of 20 people were employed during the project.
Speaking on behalf of the ratepayers, Nonceba Klaas commended the municipality for the effort and welcomed the project.
“The municipality continues to restore the dignity of its citizens through service delivery. We will now be able to host our events and ceremonies,” Klaas said.
Janda highlighted the importance of preserving and restoring heritage sites, adding that the municipality remains committed to upgrading community facilities. “Soon, we will be working towards giving the Willowvale Town Hall in Willowvale a facelift. I appeal to senior management to ensure that the facilities are well-maintained and beautified.
“Such facilities are also a return on investment as we must ensure that we collect revenue through hall hire and the use of the public ablution facilities,” said Janda.
He also urged the community to safeguard municipal facilities against vandalism and theft.
The initial scope of work includes:
• Repairs and refurbishment of the Town Hall (stage, lighting, upgrading of electrical connections with Eskom)
• Construction of a new public ablution facility
• Refurbishment of the existing public facility
• Refurbishment of the guardhouse
• Construction of new paving for the driveways and parking area
• Development of landscaping
• Installation of a new ClearVu fence
• Construction of a pergola structure
• Installation of water tanks
• Repairs and upgrades of plumbing
• Installation of a streetlight within the yard
• Installation of external downlights surrounding the building
• Installation of a coin collector machine for public ablution facilities
• Installation of water pumps.
