Twenty- four (24) ratepayers of Matsapha emerged as winners during the Pay Your Rates competition draw that was held at Matsapha Town Council’s Meeting Hall, on the 11th November 2020.
The winners of this competition were drawn from a bucket that was full of Matsapha Ratepayers that paid their rates in full, for the year 2020. Coordinating the draw was Council’s Town Treasurer Thulani Mabuza, with a representative of ratepayers, Virginia Dlamini Akintola.
Draw
The competition started with a draw to come up with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winner. The 1st prize winner, Thwala Nosizo Sibulelo won a WIFI subscription valued at E9 000.00, followed by 2nd prize winner, Orange Grove Holdings who won a DSTV subscription valued at E6 000.00 and the 3rd winner, Mbabane Quarry Proprietary won a tablet valued at E4 000.00.
The top three items were followed by consolation prizes which were which included Pick n’ Pay Vouchers and Council branded items. These are clearly shown in the table below:
| PRIZES | PAY YOUR RATES & WIN COMPETITION WINNERS | ||
| ITEMS | ACCOUNT NUMBER | DESCRIPTION | |
| First Prize | WIFI Annual Subscription | 119801 | Thwala Nosizo Sibulelo |
| Second Prize | DSTV Annual Subscription | 146401 | Orange Grove Holdings |
| Third Prize | Tablet | 75501 | Mbabane Quarry Proprietary |
| Consolation Prizes | Pick’n pay shopping vouchers (E800) | ||
| 1 | 122901 | Macedo Donovan | |
| 2 | 18401 | Swaziland Electricity Company | |
| 3 | 114901 | Nxumalo Bheki Valaphi | |
| Pick’n pay shopping vouchers (E500) | |||
| 1 | 17701 | Chapel House Trust | |
| 2 | 27601 | Skonkwane Matsapha Proprietary | |
| 3 | 26201 | Tommy’s block and concrete product centre | |
| COUNCIL BRANDED ITEMS: | |||
| a) Braai apron set | |||
| 1 | 89901 | Strydom Rita | |
| 2 | 99001 | Hlatshwako Jabulani Vincent | |
| 3 | 43301 | Prawn Properties | |
| b) Picnic blankets | |||
| 1 | 213001 | Dlamini Chakazile Mbalenhle | |
| 2 | 208201 | Zwane Ramford Simphiwe | |
| 3 | 81101 | Masuku Mefika Ellias | |
| c) Coffee plunger set | |||
| 1 | 46301 | Ka-Mhlushwa Trust | |
| 2 | 211001 | African Christian College | |
| 3 | 69801 | Crane Properties | |
| d) On the desk set | |||
| 1 | 24601 | Koswa (PTY) LTD | |
| 2 | 124201 | Mnisi Khanyakude Pretty | |
| 3 | 123601 | Natasha Muir | |
| e) Umbrellas | |||
| 1 | 135201 | Richards Celeste Desiree | |
| 2 | 116701 | P.A.G Motsa Trust | |
| 3 | 84801 | Nxumalo Sharol Khetsiwe | |
Appreciation
The Annual competition is done as a means to show appreciation for the support from the ratepayers that paid in full and on time, and further encourage the consistency in cooperation and payment of the rates. Normally the competition runs until June 30th, however due to Covid -19 effects, a consideration was made to extend the closing date of the competition to October 31st.
Council in the last financial year was able to collect E29 407 920. It is exciting to note that this year Council was able to collect E300 000 more. Council is pleased to have collected a total sum of E29 781 050.
“We know that these prizes presented to the ratepayers are insignificant to the amount that they pay, but it is merely a token of appreciation for their cooperation with Council,” Mabuza said.
The ratepayers’ representative Akintola also appreciated the opportunity to be invited as the ratepayers’ representative and applauded Council’s work in making Matsapha the sustainable and liveable town it is.
MATSAPHA STREET LIGHTS POWERED UP
On the 3rd week of October 2020, Matsapha Town Council under the Town Engineering department installed Light Emitting Diode (LED) street lights in various streets of the town as means of upgrading the town’s security with advanced quality products.
The LED lights were installed along Simunye Street, 7th Street, 9th Street and King Mswati III West Avenue. Council hopes that the newly installed lights will offer improved lighting as LED lights are known to produce light of up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent light bulbs.
Safety
The evenly distributed LED street lighting will provide a clearer view of the surroundings when it is dark. The lighting of the streets will help contribute towards increasing the safety of the public in Matsapha urban space. Council further appreciates that Matsapha urban roads have large numbers of pedestrians that either walk to work or walk and/or run for fitness purposes. It is our hope that they can now walk more comfortably in the lighted locations.
Economic
Council is looking to gain positive economic and cost savings with the LED lights implementation. The savings will be obtained from the less utility costs and lower maintenance expenditures of the LED lighting. In addition to that, LED lighting has remarkable lifespans ranging from 50,000 – 100,000 hours without any degradation in light quality.
Innovation
As a drive towards the first world status, the Council is determined to keep up with innovation that will improve the town, the business environment and the local communities. The installation of the LED lights in the streets mentioned is only the beginning, as Council has planned to keep the activity going until all urban street lights in Matsapha are upgraded.
