Service is Peer’s watchword
Committed to achieving the 43 goals set by mayor Zandile Gumede
DURBAN’S new deputy mayor, Fawzia Peer, 65, was scheduled to sit down with the Daily News for a face-to-face interview yesterday, but at the last minute pulled out because of a “political meeting”, her secretary said.
Peer had requested that the Daily News send her a list of questions beforehand.
On cancelling 30 minutes before, her office said they would respond to the questions via e-mail.
Peer was, however, able to take a break from her meeting for a photo shoot by the Daily News.
Here are her answers to the questions sent by Daily News reporter, LEE RONDGANGER.
1) How many years have you spent in the council?
I have served the people of eThekwini loyally and passionately for the past 20 years in various capacities, Deputy Mayor of the Inner West Council, Ward 24 Councillor, Chief Whip of the eThekwini Council, Chair of the Finance and Procurement committee.
With the greater responsibility now, I will continue to serve our people with vigour and pride. I am committed to helping business, the youth, the poor and disadvantaged, especially, women. I am committed to service delivery. I am committed to creating jobs and supporting the development of existing and new businesses.
I am committed to the eThekwini Municipality and all its people in terms of achieving our vision of being the most livable city in Africa.
2) Were you surprised when you were chosen for the deputy mayorship?
Indeed I was surprised. I must say that it is an immense honour and privilege to be appointed as the Deputy Mayor of the eThekwini Municipality. I sincerely appreciate the faith and confidence placed in me by our leadership. I, once again, commit myself to serving our great city and to uplift the quality of life of all our people, especially the poor and disadvantaged. 3) What will be your role as deputy mayor?
The Deputy Mayor’s role is defined in the structures act as one who assists the mayor in fulfilling her duties .
This is a new administration in terms of the position of mayor and deputy mayor. We need to assess what needs to be done to ensure our plans to address the issues at hand.
To this end, we also ask the media to continue playing a watchdog role whilst balancing this with an understanding of the functions of the municipality.
For our city to become a success story, we need the partnership of local government, private sector, community and media.
Comrade Zandile Gumede is our mayor and is the political head of the municipality. She has spelt out her vision for the council and has detailed 43 strategic goals that she hopes to achieve for the city. I will work closely with her in achieving these goals.
It is important for me to understand the hopes, aspirations and needs of all our communities, and to be able to assist the mayor in mobilising resources to achieve our goals.
I remain committed to accomplishing these goals during my term of office, and will continue to render selfless service to the community.
It is important that the Office of the Mayor inspires colleagues, officials and the community and is seen as a beacon of hope to all.
I am also aware of the fact that I will be called upon to assist the mayor in representing the municipality on all levels of society and to act as host and welcome dignitaries. This task will extend to opening of projects, events and new developments.
I will also be responsible for chairing a portfolio where I will be required to devote much time and attention.
4) What are the key challenges facing the city over the next five years?
Some of the key challengers are:
a) Job creation:
will be a priority of the new administration. Unemployment: is a major problem in the current economic climate. Accordingly, we need to balance the social spend on basic services against the spend on economic development.
b) Economic growth:
There are also a number of catalytic investment projects which will result in significant job opportunities. There are also several economic regeneration projects.
c) Accelerate housing delivery:
Our track record in terms of housing delivery is unparalleled. However, due to ongoing rural-urban migration, we still have a backlog.
d) Urbanisation:
This is causing our city to burst at the seams. We need to have a clear plan to eradicate the slums by relooking at our housing models.
e) Service delivery backlogs:
This Council shall continue to improve people’s lives through accelerating service delivery.
eThekwini Municipality has a good service delivery track record and has received many accolades.
The mayor, Cllr Zandile Gumede, has emphasised in her 43 strategic goals that our streets must be clean, roads must be without potholes, waste must be collected weekly, our street lamps must work, refuse and garbage must be picked up regularly, verges must be cut, and residents must have access to regular water and electricity supply.
We have to actively interact with the community and promote ongoing, two-way communication in every ward. 5) When this term ends, what would you have liked to have achieved?
We, as a collective, the mayor and the executive committee, would have ensured that the 43 strategic goals have been achieved to improve the lives of our people.
6) What is the day in the life of a deputy mayor like?
It is too soon to gauge what it is going to be like, although I must confess that the last two weeks were extremely busy.
I attended many engagements, but once we are allocated the sub-committees, I want to concentrate on that and the Executive Committee.
7) Were you disappointed that you did not win the ward in Sydenham/Overport where you stood as ward candidate? Yes and No. Yes – This is a community I had dedicated many years. I ran a campaign that targeted different groups within this diverse community and took up issues that affected them. With this effort, I expected to win the ward. But it seems that national issues played a major role and voters were swayed by this.
No – Because it means that I need to work even harder. I am the chairperson of the ANC branch in Ward 31 and will have to ensure we remain responsive to the needs of our members and community.
The ANC has deployed me again as a PR councillor of Ward 31. So I will continue serving the Ward 31 community.
8) What do you think the ANC needs to do to win over the support of the Indian community which they have lost over the years?
The so-called Indian vote is not homogenous and, as such, requires a deep understanding of this block of voters.
Apart from bread-and-butter issues, they are influenced by national dynamics. Like any voter, they will not be influenced by appearances during election time only.
The ANC has a proud history of serving the community and providing selfless leadership at all levels. A new and fresh approach is required to attract new voters.
The ANC has branches in all wards and our activists must make it a point to include minority communities in all programmes.
Our members must be seen and heard whenever the community is confronted with challenges. As a municipality, we need to be responsive to their needs. Whether it is a pothole needing to be repaired or flood damages, we have to act with speed.
This applies to all our communities and they will support you if you are acting in their best interests.
The municipality will continue to accelerate service delivery in all the wards and we will continue to adopt a zero tolerance approach to fraud and corruption.
There is no magical formula to winning the Indian vote. The principles of success for elections remains the same in any community.