Residents of Pandamatenga, Lesoma and Kazungula (Paleka) last week voted out of office the Board of trustees’ members of PALEKA Community Trust through a motion of no confidence during a Special General Meeting that was held at Lesoma village Kgotla.
The concerned community members are of the view that the Board members who got into the office in December last year following a Special Annual General meeting were not recognised by the community as their election was unlawful as per the constitution of the trust.
They expressed that the Special Annual General Meeting was held without the presence of Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for facilitation and as such, was null and void.
It is alleged that for the past 10 years PALEKA Community Trust has never held an Annual General Meeting, which has led suspicions of lack of accountability, maladministration and misuse of funds. This as the beneficiary residents claim not to have benefitted from their community resources as per CBNRM policy.
During their term in office former Board of Trustee members are alleged to have used trust funds without consulting relevant stakeholders for court cases, accommodation allowances, sitting allowances, meal allowances and maintenance of office facilities/equipment.
It was against this background that residents of the three beneficiary villages gathered at Lesoma Kgotla last week to elect the interim Board of Trustees members as per the constitution of PALEKA Community Trust in a transparent notice, facilitated by TAC.
During the meeting the residents demanded a scheduled Annual General Meeting within two months from the Special General meeting date, where all the trust property and financial reports should be made to the general public of the three villages of Lesoma, Kazungula and Pandamatenga.
Giving welcome remarks during the meeting, Kgosi Lesoma Lesoma of Lesoma village said that since the Board got into office last year, they have never presented themselves to the members of the three villages. He revealed that whenever they were called for meetings the Board members did not honour the invitations and did not state any reason for their absence.
Commenting during the meeting, one of the aggrieved Kazungula village community members Mpho Sibanda lamented that since the appointment of the former board members they have not benefited from projects funded by the trust. He stated that it was high time serious action was taken to address the issues facing the trust.
Lesoma Village resident Richwell Khwese said that unemployment is a major concern in the area therefore the community trust should come up with initiatives that would address challenges faced by the youth in the area. He said funds from the trust could be used to fund water projects and education as is the case with other trusts in the country.
