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Newsletter 8/ January 2014

NEW YEAR

NEW CHALLENGES

NEW BEGINNINGS

HERE’S TO 2014!

Frank Lloyd Wright was an Amer-

ican architect, interior designer,

writer and educator, who de-

signed more than 1000 struc-

tures and completed 532 works.

Wright believed in designing struc-

tures which were in harmony with

humanity and its environment, a

philosophy he called organic ar-

chitecture.

At the end of his career, a jour-

nalist asked him in an interview:

“Which one of your amazing de-

signs is your favourite?” Without

hesitation Wright answered: “My

next one”. He fully understood

how important it is important to

grow, to progress and fully pur-

sue life. One should not be con-

tent with the success of the past.

The world is your oyster!

Too many people live below their

potential, whilst they have the gift

and talent to go so much further.

Most people become too com-

fortable with their current situation.

God however wants us to have

a greater influence on the world

than ever before! This means that

if you are an electrician, you have

not yet fixed your most complex

electrical problem, if you are in

Customer Care, you have not yet

made the biggest difference in the

community, if you are in construc-

tion, you have not yet built your

best powerline, if you are in fi-

nance, you have not yet conclud-

ed your best transaction. There

is always room for improvement

and to become the best version

of yourself you could possibly be!

With our eyes set on 2014, let us

strive towards becoming the best

employees, colleagues, parents,

siblings, spouses and children we

could possibly be! Your best days

are certainly not behind you. The

best is yet to come!

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Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to

reach for the stars to change the world.Harriet Tubman

The world is your oyster!

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Getting to know Baby Twala

We have all heard the name Baby Twala. But do any of us really know who Baby is? Where does she come from? What does she do?

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Baby grew up in Betlehem until the

age of two, when she moved to

Phutaditjhaba in Qwa Qwa with her

parents. In 1996 they moved to Tshi-

ame, and she has been staying there

ever since. She matriculated in 1997

at Beacon High School, and started

studies in Information Technology at

the University of Qwa Qwa, where

she obtained her National Diploma in

2000.

Baby is a woman of many talents. In

2001 she started working at the mu-

nicipality as secretary of the Director

of Municipal Infrastructure. She moved

to Pretoria in 2007, where she started

working for the Human Science Re-

search Council as Events Coordina-

tor. Her main duty was to coordinate

events which included workshops

and conferences for the presidency.

She returned to Qwa Qwa in August

2011 because of family responsibility,

where she took up her old position at

the municipality again.

While working at the municipality, she

completed several other courses,

which include the following:

• Professional Office Administration

• Finance for Non-Financial Managers

• Course in Rough Diamonds

• Secretarial

• Data Capturing

• Management

• Advanced Project Assistant

Baby joined the Remig Group in Sep-

tember 2013, and has really been

pulling her weight from day one.

Her winning the WOW for the fourth

quarter in 2013 is proof of this. She’s

been heading Local Control Maluti

from Harrismith, with the new control

room that is in the process of being

set up in 28 Stuart Street, Harrismith.

She enjoys a challenge, and she is

certainly very excited to make a suc-

cess of this new project!

Baby has two sons. Her eldest is 18

and now doing matric at the New

Horizon College in Harrismith. Her

youngest will be turning 10 in April

and is currently in Grade 4 in Harri-

smith Primary.

Baby enjoys light reading, and is pas-

sionate about work, which explains

why she is always working! She be-

lieves that one should always be chal-

lenged in the workplace in order to

grow as a person, and at Rural this

is certainly the case. She experiences

Rural as a big family who knows how

to make teamwork happen.

Well Baby, we officially welcome you

to the Remig Family!

Getting to know Baby Twalaby Ian van Rooyen

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Welcome to all the new REMIG employees!

Marie Mpheteng - Control Room Operator

Sam Moloi - Control Room Operator

Nobuhle Ngeubeni - Control Room Operator

Abram Mahlaba - Control Room Operator

Busisiwe Maduna - Control Room Operator

Maria Tshabalala - Control Room Operator

Petunia Ntheli - Control Room Operator

Jonas Dakile - Control Room Operator

Julia Khookhoo - Receptionist

Themba Masina

Rural Free State

Rural Maintenance

Percy Maasdorp - Meter Reader

SELCo

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Welcome to all the new REMIG employees!

Out with the old

in with new!&

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As we stand at the end

of the first month of the

year, it is astounding to

think that 31 days have

already past and that

there are only 334 days

left until the end of the

year. The beginning of

the year is not only the

time to make resolu-

tions (which usually fades

away after the first two

weeks), but also the time

for a fresh start.

The future starts today, not tomorrow.Pope John Paul II

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Reflecting upon 2013, REMIG has achieved a great deal with the Redefine Sale, the commence-ment of Maluti-a-Phofung, the new powerline over the N3 high-way and another successful year with the ABSA Energy & Utility Management Project, to name but a few.

If there is one thing we know, it is that REMIG is always evolving and 2014 is no exeption! Without ne-glecting our current projects, our focus for 2014 include the com-mencement of the Netelek Train-ing Facility, the upgrade/rebuild of 3 substations in QwaQwa and several Hardware and Software developments on Netelek’s side.

Prepare yourself for an exciting year of new projects, new chal-lenges and hard work. A body requires all parts to function in order to work effectively. In the same manner, every employee contributes in their unique way to the success of the REMIG group. We need every employee of Ru-ral Maintenance, Rural Free State, SELCo, Netelek, S&W Consulting and Village Ridge to work togeth-er as a group to reach our goals for 2014.

Here’s to 2014! Here’s to the bright New Year and a fond fare-well to the old; here’s to the things that are yet to come and to the memories that we hold. Wishing you all a blessed 2014!

The future starts today, not tomorrow.Pope John Paul II

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Tis’ the season for giving

In the spirit of giving and also to

give thanks for everything we are

blessed with, Rural and Netelek

joined forces to help the 84 senior

citizens of the Louis Trichard Old

Age Home in Danville,

located in the West

of Pretoria. These

pensioners receive a

Government pension

of about R1200 from

which they still need

to pay for their lodg-

ing. Nonetheless their

“Wish-list” comprised

of everyday items

like toothpaste, soap and body

lotion, items which we consider

to be basic necessities, the items

we so easily take for granted.

We at REMIG have committed

ourselves to supporting the Old

Age Home in spoiling them with

a little gift at Christmas time. This

year we decided to make it more

personal by assigning an em-

ployee to a pensioner. This gift

was sponsored by the employ-

ees who generously volunteered

to be a part of this project. There

were also a couple of employees

who baked cookies in addition to

also buying a gift. I must say that

the employees truly went out of

their way to make their gifts spe-

cial and memorable.

The star of the show was un-

deniably Father Christmas, aka

Marius Botha, our very own Le-

gal Advisor. The ladies definitely

enjoyed the kisses

which came with

the presents they

received and the

men were in awe of

his luscious beard

and potbelly, which

almost lost the war

against the forces

of gravity.

Supporting stars included the

Technical Admin Department

who offered their time to play the

role of Santa’s Elves. They went

out of their way to attend to each

and every person, making them

feel special and valued.

We want to thank all the employ-

ees for your generosity! It may

seem small, but it made a huge

difference and it is greatly appre-

ciated!

the men were in awe of his lus-cious beard and potbelly, which almost lost the war against the forces of gravity.

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We rise by lifting othersRobert Ingersol

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Rural Free State is NOT responsible for the main-

tenance or management of the streetlights. This

function has been out sourced to an independ-

ent service provider by MaP prior to Rural com-

mencing its service delivery:

• RURAL IS AWARE OF THE POOR STATE OF

STREETLIGHTS

• RURAL HAS ALREADY COMMENCED WITH

MEASURES TO REMEDY THE SITUATION, BUT

THE SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS WILL NOT BE

RESOLVED IN THE SHORT TERM.

Streetlights

REMIGNEWS

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Rural Maintenance confirms that the electric-

ity supply of the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality

has been disconnected due to the Municipal-

ity’s continuous failure to pay for its electricity

usage since 1 September 2013. The outstand-

ing amount currently stands at R 14,170 million.

Even though the municipality failed to honour its

obligations, Rural Maintenance has nevertheless

timeously paid the Eskom bulk account since the

1st of September 2013 and shall continue to do

so in order to ensure that the paying consumers

in the community of Maluti-a-Phofung will not to

be affected and will receive uninterrupted power

supply. Rural has to date paid Eskom R 92,389

million for this electricity. The failure by the Maluti-

a-Phofung Municipality to pay for its electricity

consumption is rather perturbing as the Munici-

pality has received money from Central Gov-

ernment through the allocation of the Equitable

Share in order to meet its obligations towards

paying for its own electricity consumption and

more importantly to provide and pay for the pro-

vision of Free Basic Electricity to the community,

which has up to date been subsidised by Rural.

Rural’s main focus is to deliver affordable and

reliable electricity to the community, which can

only be achieved with the cooperation of every

consumer paying for the electricity used.

Disconnection of MaP Municipality Power Supply

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The lighter side of REMIG

Do not lose your head in 2014!

Aurora, daughter of Bennie

Swarts from Netelek & Sanet

Pyper from Rural Maintenance.

As the parents of an amazing baby girl, your life is going to be filled with

excitement and all things pink and pretty. We are extremely happy for as you

start this new chapter of your lives with your new little angel. Our best wishes

and warmest congratulations on the birth of your new baby! May she bring

you many years of sugar, spice and all things nice

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Aurora, daughter of Bennie

Swarts from Netelek & Sanet

Pyper from Rural Maintenance. Maegan, daughter of Theuns Potgieter from Rural Free State.

Funniest Employee Awards

1. Duct Tape Award – For being able to fix just about anything

2. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere Award – For most eager to quit working

3. Swiss Army Knife Award – For most indespensable

4. Loch Ness Award – For least likely to be found

5. Running with the Bulls Award – For Biggest Risk Taker

6. Bermuda Triangle Award – For the desk where things go in but

never come out

7. Champagne Award – For most sparkling personality

8. Coal to Diamond Award – For most Valuable under pressure

Kate Sarah, daughter of Ryan Felton from Netelek.