Pomp and Ceremony to celebrate new robes
The CWDM hosted a small ceremony to celebrate our new Council Robes was held t our last council meeting. This is the first time in many years that the council has procured new ceremonial robes.
The Municipal Manager, Henry Prins led the ceremony and stated, “When Karina let me know that our Council Robes had arrived and that we would be doing this ceremony, it got me thinking about the purpose of robes and ceremonial dress in general.
I thought back to my own experience, and I realised that throughout life, there are occasions that call for specific forms of dress.
Through the ages, all leaders, from chiefs and generals to presidents and judges have announced their authority and office through the wearing of specific items.
In religion, we expect the spiritual leader to wear attire that indicates affiliation, belief and in some cases, seniority and designation of office.
In sport, the man of the match is often indicated through a special piece of clothing or a trophy, (like the pink shorts in Varsity Cup Rugby). Even at school, leadership and/or achievement is indicated though the wearing of a badge or special blazer. And of course, when we graduate, we are adorned in a gown showing the level of the qualification attained.”
In our organisation, the fire, roads and cleaning staff all wear uniforms that show us what they do. We know that the employee is qualified to wear that uniform, and that we can trust them to accomplish their task.
To help celebrate the occasion, a staff member from each department to assist with the hanging of the robes.
Mr Ntobeko Twyana, General Worker from the Roads department in Worcester, assisted our Speaker, Cllr Donovan Joubert. Ms Aliseen Januarie, General Worker represented the Finance and strategic Support Services and assisted our Executive Deputy Mayor, Cllr Margie Sampson and Mr Piet du Plessis, Regional Commander, Fire Services represented Community Development and Planning Services and assisted our Mayor, Ald (Dr) Elna von Schlicht.
The MM closed the ceremony on a serious note, “By wearing these robes, you are declaring your commitment to this council in matters of leadership, authority, and accountability. You are also promising to uphold the highest level of service to our public.
Madame Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Speaker, we trust in your leadership. We wish you well in this term, may wisdom guide and passion drive you to succeed at your tasks so that the citizens of the Cape Winelands District may thrive.”
