By REGINALD KANYANE
North West MEC for Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (ACSR), Collen Maine said the library is a critical resource that will transform and strengthen the lives of the people. Maine, who officially opened a new modular community library in Mmatau on 19 August 2024, urged community members to take care of the facility.
He further said this is for the benefit of the community. Maine added that the Mmatau Community Library was built at a cost of R3 million, and the facility is fenced and has protection guards.
“The library features a reception area, a section for children – with furniture and toys aligned to the needs of the children that will be using the library. This also includes a computer section with five computers and one reserved for the visually impaired, WIFI, and R1.2 million-worth of furniture.
“We plead with the community to take care of the facility. I trust and urge the community of Bakwena ba ga Modisana to protect the library and not allow any person or group of people to express their frustrations on this library by burning and vandalizing it,” he said.
Maine said although they understand that there may at times be service delivery challenges, they believe there are better ways of expressing dissatisfaction – and vandalising facilities is not one of them.
“The library is well-equipped with technology to help you access the internet, which you can use to access opportunities for research, searching for job opportunities and academic development. We urge you to use WIFI sparingly for educational and research purposes only. I now leave the responsibility to protect this library, the books, computers, and everything with the community of Mmatau.
“As government, we have made a promise and delivered. Now, it is your responsibility to take care of this beautiful library. This facility is going to play a crucial role in producing future leaders,” he said.
The Guardian 