This is the advice of the president of Institute of Municipal Administrators of South Africa (IMASA), Winnie Baloyi. Baloyi is also the administration manager in the Corporate Services Department at the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, making her the head of the secretariat responsible for the coordination and support of all of council and its committee meetings as well as top management meetings.

Being the president of IMASA has afforded her the opportunity to be a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) and she also serves as a member of the IIMC Region XI Board, constituted by members from countries outside of the USA such as The Netherlands and Canada. “The highlight of my career was being invited to attend the IIMC National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia, USA in 2018 and in Birmingham, Alabama, USA in 2019,” she said.

Also read: #WomensDay2018: From Tzaneen to Austria, and back again

She told the Herald that she wished she received salvation and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour earlier in her life, during her teenage years. At the age of 21 she and her siblings lost both their parents. “It was one of the hardest challenges I had to face. My mother was my role model, she provided for us on a small income, paying for our university and school fees,” she said.

She draws strength from knowing that God has given her family the strength to move on with their lives, as all her siblings are now independent. She also had to endure another loss when her husband passed on in 2009, leaving her with three children. She believes God still has better plans for her and that at the right time she would like to venture into business, she concluded.