Safety, seniors and services: Sele sets the tone

In Part Five of unpacking Mayor Lucky Sele’s 2025 State of the City Address (SOCA), the focus is on Community Development Services and public safety. With increased infrastructure investment across the city, Sele said, ensuring safety and security is a top developmental priority.

“A safe city is a city that can grow, attract investors, and provide residents with a dignified quality of life,” he said.

“The Public Safety Division has shown unwavering commitment to maintaining law and order.”

Sele noted that partnerships are crucial to safety efforts, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with provincial law enforcement agencies, allowing co-ordinated efforts across boundaries. Joint operations under Operation Shanela occur weekly in hotspots, while 24/7 patrols target cable theft, land invasions and transformer vandalism.

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To boost disaster response, the city established a Local Disaster Management Unit (LDMU). Technology upgrades include a warrant roadblock bus, new CCTV cameras, and speed and red-light cameras. In 2025/ 26, the city will procure 20 new traffic vehicles, a by-law enforcement truck, and a bakkie for the LDMU to increase reach and responsiveness.

Sele celebrated the long-awaited launch of the Kagiso Elderly Centre, a 100-capacity facility offering daily care, wellness services, a gym, and therapeutic support.

“This marks a historic turning point in our commitment to community-based care for older persons,” he said.

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He added that the Social Upliftment Division is key to building an inclusive, developmental city. Their role in the 100 Days GBVF Challenge earned recognition from the South African Local Government Association, and Sele announced plans for a Safe House for Women and Children, set to launch in 2025/ 26.

Regarding social protection, they launched a fully digitised Electronic Indigent Management System in October last year, streamlining applications, improving turnaround times, and enhancing verification protocols.

“To date, 3 429 applications were processed, and 6 107 households are currently supported. To ensure fairness and accuracy, we appointed 32 Indigent Verification Officers, including two persons with disabilities, who conducted physical door-to-door verification between January and June, creating local employment while ensuring resources reach those most in need.”

“We are also intensifying support for our youngest citizens. Two Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDC) are being prepared for full operationalisation. The Sinqobile ECDC will resume construction next month following structural assessments, while the Ga-Mogale ECDC has finalised a governing board and is on track to be registered as an NPO, unlocking new streams for compliance, funding, and long-term sustainability.”

“Our ongoing HIV/ Aids outreach remains a cornerstone of municipal health services. The Local HIV/ Aids Council, chaired by me, led outreach campaigns that reached over 126 000 households, supporting nearly 280 000 infected and affected individuals. This programme also created 94 employment opportunities through stipends for peer educators, injecting over R3.6m into community livelihoods while promoting health awareness and resilience,” Sele continued.

He said their Sports Development Division has pursued meaningful partnerships to unlock access and expand participation. In March 2025, they collaborated with the Gauteng Lions on a targeted Cricket Development Programme, hosting clinics in rural areas as part of our drive to decentralise sporting opportunities.

Mogale City is currently hosting the country’s largest grassroots cricket tournament, the Jozi Cup 2025, with matches taking place across the Kagiso, Lusaka, and Azaadville cricket ovals. The two-month-long event concludes this month and has significantly bolstered local pride, talent discovery and township sporting economies. In July last year, Mogale launched the inaugural Mogale City Winter Games, an annual multi-code sporting showcase designed to encourage mass participation and unearth township talent across age groups and wards.
“We further deepened our support for grassroots sport by partnering with federations and youth-led bodies, including the Tarlton Youth Organisation, to successfully host the 2025 Youth Tournament, as well as the Gauteng Cross Country Championships at Kagiso Sport Complex last month.”

The Mayor’s Annual Easter Tournament, his flagship, remains one of Mogale’s most powerful youth development platforms. Held over the Easter Weekend, this year’s tournament ran from March 29 to 31 (preliminaries) and April 18 to 21 (finals), and featured soccer and netball matches across all wards and age categories.

“This inclusive programme is about far more than trophies, it is a celebration of township resilience, a space for positive youth engagement, and a feeder into formalised sports pathways.”

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He said, in the past financial year, they hosted the Provincial Heritage Day Celebrations at Maropeng, which in turn hosted a Skills Development Workshop for local artists and convened the Arts and Culture Forum, ensuring governance and sustainability in the creative sector.

“Our libraries continue to be a critical part of our knowledge infrastructure.”

In October last year, Lusaka Library was recognised as Public/ Community Library of the Year at the national LIASA Conference in Durban. From June, Mogale extended library hours at Desmond Tutu, Kagiso, Krugersdorp, and Magaliesburg Libraries, broadening access for learners, job seekers and researchers.

“In addition, our active MOU with Unisa has enabled improved academic resource access across our libraries, reaffirming their role as vital educational centres,” he said.

Sele added, it is with immense pride that they celebrated the achievements of the Amajita U20 players, Thato Sibiya and Kgomotso Madiba, who rose from local development leagues in Mogale City to become part of South Africa’s Afcon-winning squad.

“Their victory is not just a sporting milestone, it is a clarion call to invest further in grassroots sports, because when township dreams are nurtured, national heroes are born.

In preserving the rich and sacred history of Mogale City, Sele proudly honour one of Mogale’s most distinguished sons, the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who hails from the mighty ‘Chip Town’, in Munsieville. As part of their commitment to cultural heritage preservation and legacy-driven development, Mogale commenced discussions with the Desmond Tutu Foundation and the Anglican Church on the establishment of a dedicated tourism and heritage route in his memory.

“This visionary project aims to position Mogale as a site of reflection, pilgrimage, and education where future generations can walk in the footsteps of this global icon of peace, reconciliation, and justice,” Sele concluded.