By Tabisa Mntengwana
21 May 2009

BORN and raised in Buffalo City, Sizwe Dikimolo has fond memories of the good old days in the area.

A keen sportsman, he loved rugby and swimming, and enjoyed his schooldays immensely. “Those were the happiest days, even though were deprived of other things. But I remember very well each moment I spent in the city,” he says.

Now a councillor in the city he loves so much, Dikimolo has been reappointed to the mayoral committee under Executive Mayor Zukisa Faku, where he has retained his position as portfolio head of corporate services.

And he has the experience for the post: Dikimolo started working at the municipality as a councillor in the East London TLC, where he was the chairperson of the human resources standing committee. “It has been at least 15 years since I have been with the city and it feels like yesterday.”

He also served on an executive committee set up to resolve labour relations matters and was a member of the South African Local Government Association (Salga) working group on human resources and labour relations.

“My involvement in Salga has helped me gain experience in various areas of local government, especially human resources, in which I have a vast educational background,” he says.

Dikimolo studied public management at the Buffalo City FET College and executive leadership municipal development programme through the University of Pretoria. “I have also studied short courses on human resource development, local government management and project planning.”

The down-to-earth councillor works very closely with his colleagues in the City in setting up human resources policies and strategy, and in setting up council structures. “During the integration of East London and King William’s Town, we came up with policies to fuse the Mdantsane, Beacon Bay, East London and King William’s Town staff and also revamped the labour forum with unions,” he explains.

He also helped to set up the processes and systems for the Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme. “During that time I was working as a portfolio councillor for the urban renewal programme.”

Dikimolo started off on the mayoral committee in the engineering portfolio. The section included departments such as water, electricity, sanitation, roads, scientific service, sewerage and laboratory.

“This is one of the most exciting sections in the municipality; the role has groomed me to be a better leader and member of council.”

In 2006, he crossed to corporate services. “I [have been] in the same section since 2006; I enjoy dealing with officials in these areas, including human resources, information technology, administration, knowledge management and the legal department.”

Sharing his experiences as a volunteer in umKhonto weSizwe, the military wing of the ANC, Dikimolo says he enjoyed working with various struggle stalwarts.

He was also involved in other political structures, including the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (Sactu). “I joined the ANC while it was banned in the late 1970s,” he says.

Another of Dikimolo’s passions is education. “I’m currently studying and I encourage officials to empower themselves through education.”

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