Thembelihle Mhlanga
LUPANE — The Lupane Local Board (LLB) has sworn in a new cohort of junior councillors, giving young people a formal platform to represent their peers, engage with local governance and raise issues affecting communities across the district.
The inauguration was held at Lupane Community Hall and brought together community members, local authority representatives, government officials, and student delegations.
The ceremony marked a new phase in youth participation in local governance, with the junior councillors expected to engage with young people in their communities and contribute their perspectives to discussions on issues affecting them.
Presiding over the proceedings, Lupane Local Board Chairperson Councillor Thandolwenkosi Nyoni urged the newly sworn-in representatives to approach their responsibilities with humility and a commitment to public service.
“Leadership does not come with power, but with responsibility and commitment,” Cllr Nyoni told the incoming junior councillors.
He challenged the young representatives to take an active role in identifying and raising issues affecting their peers, particularly drug and substance abuse and school dropouts.
“I urge the junior councillors to take the lead and represent their peers on issues directly affecting them, particularly the topical scourge of drug and substance abuse, as well as the rising cases of school dropouts,” he said.
The issues raised by Nyoni place the junior council at the centre of discussions around challenges facing young people, particularly those affecting their education, wellbeing, and participation in community life.
Following her appointment, the newly installed Junior Board Chairperson Nicole Sibanda outlined her priorities, saying her term would include advocacy for issues affecting boys and young men.
“It is upon my programme to advocate for the boy child, who has been left in the ditch as every intervention currently zeros around the girl child,” Sibanda said during her acceptance address.
Sibanda said she believed that issues affecting boys should receive greater attention in youth development programmes. She pointed to challenges such as peer pressure, academic difficulties, crime, and drug use as issues that can affect young people.
Her comments come as the junior council takes on a broader role of representing young people’s concerns within the local governance structure.
Also outlining her priorities was newly appointed Junior Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Mayibongwe Junior Mbambo, who focused on the technological challenges facing rural schools.
Mbambo said she intended to work with the senior Minister of Primary and Secondary Education to advocate for greater technological development in rural schools.
“As the Junior Minister, it is upon my work to work with my senior colleague, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, to foster the technological advancement of rural schools, as they are lagging behind,” Mbambo said.
She highlighted the importance of technology in education and said rural schools needed greater attention in this area. Access to computer laboratories, reliable internet connectivity, e-learning resources, and digital literacy opportunities can influence how learners and teachers participate in an increasingly technology-driven education environment.
The concerns raised by the junior representatives reflect the range of issues they are expected to bring into local governance discussions, from substance abuse and education to the specific challenges faced by boys and young people in rural communities.
The inauguration concluded with the formal administration of oaths, with the young representatives taking up their responsibilities as members of the junior council.
The junior council initiative provides young people with an opportunity to learn about local government operations while developing leadership, civic participation, and advocacy skills. It also creates a channel through which youth perspectives can be brought into discussions involving local authorities and community stakeholders.
With their terms now underway, the new Lupane junior council is expected to engage with the parent council, school administration boards, and other community stakeholders as it develops initiatives focused on young people in the district.
The council’s priorities are expected to include engaging peers on challenges affecting young people and contributing to discussions on education, substance abuse, youth participation, and other community concerns.
For the newly sworn-in representatives, the next phase will be translating their roles as junior leaders into meaningful engagement with the young people they represent.
