Goodbye, Ntobeko!

OUDTSHOORN will have to say goodbye to the well-known and well-respected spokesperson of the Greater Oudtshoorn, Ntobeko Mangqwenqwe.

He has accepted a job offer at the George Munici­pality, starting on 1 January, as senior communication and intergovernmental relations officer.

Mangqwenqwe says he will leave Oudtshoorn with only good memories.

“I am very grateful to have been part of the Oudtshoorn Municipality and appreciate the opportunity I had to make a difference in people’s lives through communication.

“I enjoyed every moment of serving the beautiful family of the Greater Oudtshoorn. I served with passion.”

And this he did. Being fluent in Afrikaans, English and Xhosa, he is a great master of ceremonies. He was always friendly, always approachable, always respectful to every person he interacted with; but also never hid from difficult questions from the media. For that he was respected.

Die Hoorn’s relationship with Mangqwenqwe started in 2001, shortly after the newspaper was established in the Little Karoo. He approached us as a young Bongolethu resident to write stories for Die Hoorn.

Not many years later he became a spokesperson for the Southern Cape Police, and on 1 December 2008 he started working at the Oudtshoorn Municipality as a media and communication officer and spokesperson.

He was the first designated communication officer for the Oudtshoorn Municipality, and had to start the public relations (PR) and communication unit from scratch. In 2014 he became senior media and communication officer.

“I would like to thank each and every person I have been able to have a professional relationship with during my career at the Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality,” he said this week.

“I would also like to thank all editors and journalists who worked with me to enhance communication as a service delivery tool.

“Thank you, Oudtshoorn Municipality, for entrusting me with the responsibility to be the town’s spokesperson for the past thirteen years. I’ve grown tremendously as a communications practitioner. I’m leaving with a wealth of experience working in a dynamic council such as the council of Oudtshoorn.”