Job opportunities, tackling crime
1 What were you doing before being appointed as a councillor that prepared you for the job?
Before I was a ward councillor I led in many social organisations including being ANC and SACP secretary. I was the chairperson of the ANCYL in my ward. I am serving in the district of the Young Communist League. I was also a member of a ward committee before they were formalised and given stipends. I was involved in the Lovelife programme that taught learners life skills. I was the chairman of the area committee in my area. I also led a cultural dance group in our area. I’m a member of the Makana Youth Council. I was a project manager in Makana municipality. I was further involved in uMthombo project which offered training skills to young people. I studied at Rhodes University and obtained a Bachelors degree.
2 What issues concern you the most about your ward?
My ward is the ward which consists of most informal areas in Makana. We have Phaphamani, Zolani, Mnandi, Phola Park and Sun City. This shows clearly that we have a problem with housing which needs urgent attention. In addition to this is the Phumlani area which has old mud and concrete houses which are now falling apart. There are still areas with no electricity and flushing toilets, so lack of infrastructure is the other problem. We also don’t have a hall or a clinic in the ward. In addition to this we have a high percentage of youth unemployment and a rising crime rate.
3 What will be your strategy over the next five years to tackle them?
For the next five years I’m planning to accelerate service delivery, working together with my community. I want to make sure I follow up on the progress made with regards to the all the projects that still need to be done in our ward. This is because many of the informal areas in our ward areas have not yet been formalised. This makes it difficult for services to come to these areas. We will make sure that SMMEs and Cooperatives are encouraged so we can reduce the unemployment rate in my community. We will also call on people to come up with their own ideas of creating job opportunities and give them support so they can pull themselves out of poverty. We will look at our own local resources and see how we can use them to benefit the youth of Makana. This can help to reduce crime in our communities. I also want to establish area structures, eg a police forum, street committee and area committees to curb criminal activities in our ward. Street lights are being installed in Extension 10 so this will also help to reduce criminal activities that have been recently reported in that area.
I will do all I can to make sure I restore public confidence in the local government by working together with all the community organisations that exist in our ward so I can remain accountable to the people.
Cell: 078 567 3677