Address by Executive Mayor of Buffalo City Councillor Zintle Peter

• The Programme Director
• Fellow Councillors and other public office bearers gracing this occasion
• Religious leaders
• The business community
• Municipal officials and personnel
• Fellow citizens
• Ladies and gentlemen

I bring you greetings and a message of goodwill also from the Council of Buffalo City, the official guardians of the welfare and good fortunes of the people of this region.

Once again it is that time of the year when we all cast our cares to the wind and take a breather from the regulated lives that we live throughout the year.

We have all earned our rest. Throughout the year we grappled with challenges and frustrations, spiritual problems and a host of disheartening circumstances.

Right now many families are still wondering how they managed to make it through the mist of poverty and unemployment that persisted throughout the year.

HIV/AIDS has persevered as the principal nemesis of our society, taking away bread winners and turning several homes into child-headed households.

Domestic crime in the form of abuse and violence against women and children was a daily occurrence during the year even though several cases were never reported to the authorities. And, lest we forget, we are presently in the midst of the Sixteen Days of Activism against Women and Children.

Many mothers are still grieving the effects that drugs and alcohol have had on their sons and daughters during the year, to the extent that these kids have since dropped out of school and are already facing the prospects of a dark and bleak future.

It is my hope that the switching on of these festive lights will symbolise the spiritual transformation of darkness into light for these and several other people of Buffalo City who had to go through similarly harrowing experiences during the year.

It is my wish that, as the festive lights go on, the glow will brighten the spirits of those unfortunate individuals who have had to toil and labour unceasingly throughout the year to bring sanity and a sense of accomplishment into their lives.

And so as we stand on the threshold of the Festive Season, let us allow the therapeutic spirit of Christmas to soothe our souls and to replenish our physical zeal for living.

Let us put the disheartening calamities of 2007 behind us and rest our bodies and souls in the shimmering and soothing atmosphere of Christmas.

Let us find it in our hearts to forgive those that caused us untold misery and suffering during the year, and to extend an olive branch to those who sought to deny us happiness and gratification.

In short, let us go into the Festive Season with a clear understanding of what it signifies - relaxation, forgiveness, love, entertainment, sharing, and spiritual self-consolation.

To those fortunate individuals who have little to lament and more to celebrate in the year 2007 I say, well done. Your biggest challenge now is to sustain your good fortunes in the years to come.

The Festive Season is also a time of reflection and stock taking of our successes and failures during the passing year.

As your municipality, we have during the year also done our bit and played our expected role to improve the lives of our people.

Although much still needs to be done, I feel that we are fully justified in celebrating with you the little cheer that we managed to bring to the hearts of many of our people through our steadfast commitment to build a better life for all.

It has always been our aspiration and generic objective to see Buffalo City in general and East London in particular transformed into a haven of profitable economic activity.

Already we are beginning to see the fruits of our efforts to turn East London into an investor-friendly location and a favourite tourism and holiday destination for all.

The East London IDZ continues to attract big investors. The infrastructure developments happening along the beachfront point to growing confidence on the part of big business.

East London has emerged as the choice venue for quality sporting and entertainment events like the Iron-Man Challenge, the Eastern Cape Soccer Festival and the tennis tournament coming up early next year.

We are equally aware of the strategic importance of the city in our efforts to grow the economy of Buffalo City as a catalyst for creating jobs and eradicating poverty.

During my Imbizos campaign last month, the scarcity of job opportunities and the need for skills development amongst the youth came up as key factors.

Whilst the municipality is doing its bit to address the situation, we feel that our private sector partners can turn the situation around faster and more significantly.

In saying this I am mindful of the diversity of challenges and constraints that have been brought to bear on our local economy, especially by rising costs and interest rates.

But I remain optimistic that if we hold hands and work together, we will be able to register a fair amount of victory against some of the frustrations that haunt our less fortunate fellow citizens.

The ongoing electricity interruptions that have punctuated the power-shedding of the past two months are highly regrettable. I am aware that this has already cost the private sector significant losses in production time and profits.

Power-shedding is unfortunately beyond the municipality's control. In fact, municipal establishments have also fallen victim to this phenomenon. One can only hope that it will not persist to the extent that it leads to more losses and effectively put a damper on our festive mood.

But, for now, I invite everybody to leave behind all the frustrations and tribulations of the year 2007 and embrace this period of jubilation with a light heart and a free spirit.

And as we spoil ourselves and our loved ones with lavish gifts and exotic foods during the season, we should please spare a thought for the destitute people and families in our midst who would give the world to feed from the scraps that will be falling from our dinner tables.

The most noble thing to do this Festive Season will be to bring Christmas cheer to one weary and downtrodden soul; to bring light to the lightless; and to bring temporary meaning to the lives of those who have lost hope.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

I thank you.

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