By Emily Setona
QWAQWA – Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality (TMDM) employees erupted in ululations and cheers as the municipality revived its long-awaited staff awards ceremony on May 27, celebrating excellence, dedication and commitment in the workplace for the first time since 2018.
Opening the event, Municipal Manager Takatso Lebenya said the awards were determined through a staff voting process aimed at recognising hard work and motivating employees.
“I’m extremely honoured that you have made time to be here today. This process has been voted for. Today we are here to see the results,” she said.
Lebenya urged employees who did not win awards not to lose hope, stressing that the initiative was meant to inspire workers to continue striving for excellence.
She said the municipality revived the awards after an eight-year break to boost morale and acknowledge the contribution of employees across departments.
Lebenya also highlighted the municipality’s investment in staff development through bursaries and further education programmes.
“We have produced some PhDs in the district and employees with postgraduate degrees. Employees must be empowered so that even when they leave the district they are in a good position,” she said.
The ceremony included a candlelight tribute in honour of deceased colleagues.
Categories recognised on the night included attendance and reliability, corporate look, innovative and creative employee, municipal services champion, teamwork and collaboration, unit of the year and employee of the year.
Several employees scooped multiple awards, with Sphiwe Malinga winning both Most Enthusiastic and Innovative and Creative Employee, while Tshepo Motaung received Community Help Impact Excellence and Municipal Services Champion awards.
Lebohang Moshoaliba emerged among the biggest winners after taking Best Leader, Sporting Person of the Year (Male) and Supervisor Manager of the Year.
The evening’s top honour went to Sthembiso Mthombeni, who was crowned Employee of the Year 2026 by former winner Malefu Ngobese.
“Maybe sometimes one will be going an extra mile not knowing others are watching. MM and colleagues, I am humbled. Thank you for this award,” said Mthombeni.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Mpiyakhe Tshabalala praised employees, organisers and stakeholders for ensuring the success of the event and commended the transparency of the process.
“I’m glad that there was transparency in this process. By the way everyone was ululating and cheering. You are all happy,” he said.
