New Ward 2 councillor keen to get started
Newly elected Ward 2 councillor Renaldo Gouws plans to hit the ground with an assessment of what he can immediately fix in his ward.
The DA retained control of the ward – which covers Summerstrand, Humewood and Forest Hill – in Wednesday’s by-election, receiving 93.3% of the total vote.
The party will now have to fill the vacancy that Gouws leaves as a PR councillor.
DA Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga said while the party would normally advertise the position, it would consider having Lutho Sokudela replace Gouws.
Sokudela was a councillor for less than a week when the party fired councillor Victor Manyati after he voted with the then opposition during the August 27 vote of no confidence against former mayor Athol Trollip.
The termination of Manyati’s membership was, however, overturned by the court.
Gouws said he had already set up meetings with residents to identify some of the urgent issues in the ward.
He will do this over the next few weeks.
“This means driving along the beachfront, finding out what it needs,” he said.
“I am going to go to Forest Hill, South End as well to also assess all things related to the upkeep of the ward.
“This is part of a bigger plan.”
Gouws said he was highly motivated to take on the new responsibility.
“I am excited and I am positive with the amount of positive feedback that I received yesterday when I interacted with the voters,” he said.
Bhanga said the results were a clear indication that the DA would also win the by-elections for Ward 35 and Ward 37.
“This is just an indication for the ANC that the DA is going to take the other two wards in the northern areas and then after that we will come to take the municipality. I can’t wait for the elections to come.
“This just shows that the people have confidence in the DA,” Bhanga said.
Wards 35 and 37 were previously led by Trevor Louw and Neville Higgins respectively.
Their membership was terminated by the DA for turning against the party and siding with the now coalition government.
It is unclear when the byelection will take place after the court dismissed their application for leave to appeal.
IEC Nelson Mandela Bay supervisor Crosby Bacela said it was yet to receive clear direction from the city.
“We still need to get information either from the municipality or the DA’s lawyers, so we are waiting for direction from them, otherwise we have dates that have already been set,” Bacela said.
They were also waiting for an opinion from their lawyers on how to proceed, he said.