7808 2333: Municipality Now Accessible Through WhatsApp
…800 2004 Toll-free line will also be accessible by cellphone as from 1st October
Customer feedback is essential to any service oriented organization as it helps the leadership team make informed decisions as well as influences improvements to its service offering. It also helps measure the level of satisfaction amongst customers whilst also building and maintaining stakeholder relationships. As a quality driven Municipality (ISO 9001:2015), customer feedback remains of utmost importance to the Municipal Council of Manzini. The Municipality has a number of customer feedback mechanisms in place and received customer feedback is analyzed regularly and appropriate action taken. With the WhatsApp application having taken over as one of the most preferred mode of communication due to speed and affordability, the Municipality has deemed it fit to introduce an official WhatsApp number for use by customers to express their service delivery requirements. With effect from today, customers can now express service delivery feedback to the Municipality by sending a WhatsApp message to 7808 2333. This is in addition to the 24/7 Call Centre (800 2004/2505 7000), Facebook page and group (Manzini News), the website (www.mzcitycouncil.sz), email (pro@mzcitycouncil.sz) as well as mail (P.O.Box 418, Manzini).
Manzini citizens and all other people who directly or indirectly experience the Municipality’s service offering are encouraged to make use of these communication platforms. The Municipality promises to continue prioritizing feedback from customers in terms of responsiveness. Over and above the introduction of the WhatsApp customer feedback platform, the Municipality is working on enabling its 24/7 Toll-free number (800 2004), which has over the years been only accessible by landline, to also be accessible by mobile phone. This is in response to improvement requests from customers. An alternative phone number (2505 7000) had been availed as an attempt to bridge the gap, however, customers expressed that most people now use the cellphone for communication and it was costly to call from cellphone to landline. The Municipality trusts that customers will be excited about these communication improvements and will continue giving customer feedback. The Municipality will also be tapping into other communication platforms in the next few months so that it aligns with global trends.
…MANZINI AGM NEXT TUESDAY
The Municipal Council of Manzini will next week Tuesday hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) wherein it will be giving an account to stakeholders on its performance during the past financial year (2020/2021). However, due to Covid-19 restrictions in relation to gatherings, a limited number of stakeholders will be able to physically attend the meeting. In order to bridge the gap, the Municipality has arranged for livestreaming of the meeting through its “Manzini News” Facebook page. Moreover, soft copies of the 2020/2021 Annual Report will be emailed to stakeholders on request. The Annual Report will also be uploaded on the Municipality’s website (www.mzcitycouncil.sz).
…JO COX PROJECT: MANZINI YOUNG WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR WINS E10,000 PRIZE
In October 2019 the Municipal Council of Manzini, alongside other Eswatini municipalities, joined an exciting women empowerment project that is known as “Connecting the Dots: Local Action for Women Political and Economic Empowerment in Southern Africa”. It is also referred to as the Jo Cox Project. The project has its origins in Britain; in particular in relation to a strong British woman by the name of Jo Cox. Jo Cox was a gender activist who was murdered for speaking strongly against gender imbalances and, instead, advocated for the empowerment of women. The Jo Cox women empowerment project, therefore, seeks to strengthen the political and economic empowerment of women and girls in Southern Africa through interlocking on-the-ground and online networks linked to Centres of Excellence for Gender in Local Government. The ultimate aim of the two-year project, which ran from October 2019 to September 2021, was to increase the participation of women in local politics and economic development in four Southern Africa countries, namely; Eswatini, Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Three women networks were born out of the project; these being Women in Local Government, Young Women in Local Government and Women in Local Economic Development (LED). Last week the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, in partnership with the Eswatini Local Government Association (ELGA), Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) and Gender Links, hosted a summit at the Happy Valley Hotel; which summit marked the end of the Jo Cox Project. A decision was taken that, during the summit, the best performing businesses and individuals that had been enrolled under the project’s Women in LED category would be recognized and awarded.
The initiative was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO); which was represented by the British High Commission in Eswatini. A total of 21 businesses under the Women in LED category were shortlisted for the awards and five were identified as best performers with a high growth potential. Ngwane Park-based young entrepreneur, Phiwayinkhosi Dlamini (22 years old), raised the Manzini flag sky high as her business, Wazzie Handworks (Pty) Ltd was recognized as one of those with high growth prospects and awarded a whooping E10,000 prize money. At her young age, she is already making waves in the city’s business sector through her baked goods, cayenne pepper source and tailor-made wigs business. Although having come to life in 2017, Wazzie Handworks’ products have already found space in the shelves of one of Eswatini’s retail giants, OK Foods. Dlamini, a 2nd year BOTHO University student, has been participating as a member of the Women in Local Economic Development Network since inception of the project. She got to participate in a number of training sessions including an introduction to entrepreneurship, traits of an entrepreneur, components of a business plan, record keeping and cash flow projection, market research and analysis, marketing, marketing opportunities and contracts. Her business was also part of an initiative to facilitate for access; to markets which was done through the Gwacatela Nsika Women Network Facebook and Instagram Store. Citizens who desire more information about Wazzie Handworks may visit the above-mentioned platforms. The women in LED were also taken through a six-month business mentorship activity which was done in partnership with Junior Achievement Eswatini. As part of this programme, women were assisted to develop business plans.
…ABOUT WAZZIE HANDWORKS
- It is a small business, run at home as well as via Facebook and WhatsApp.
- It started in 2017.
- Sells baked goods, cayenne pepper source and tailor made wigs.
- Main customer is OK Foods.
- Currently working on distributing her products to other supermarkets.
- She is planning on reinvesting the prize money into the business.
- For support, she may be contacted on WhatsApp number 7978 4414/ 7659 5223.