Small parties vie for ward 37

SMALL parties are staking their claim in the forthcoming ward 37 by-election, believing it is time bigger parties moved over and allowed the community to come up with solutions.

Anwar Adams, ward 37 candidate for the Democratic Independent party, said big parties had failed Nyanga. He is one of four hopefuls vying for the seat in the by-election taking place on Wednesday.

Crime is a major problem in Nyanga, especially in ward 37, he said. “One must identify the causes which inflict social ills in ward 37, which is surrounded by six other wards. There is obviously then an overspill (of issues) into ward 37.

“Once these causes are identified, one must use a congruent approach of consulting with all roleplayers from both the victims and perpetrators.

“As a DI councillor, I would hold intense meetings to establish any grievances each group would have and then welcome ideas and interventions to rid ward 37 of the crime-capital label.”

He said the most recent notable crimes in the ward included the attempted armed robbery of MEC Albert Fritz, which resulted in a shoot-out. Daily

The PAC’s

was relatively unknown, it could be of service to the community. He promised he would be “the voice of the people in council” and would ensure the city delivered basic services.

Sam said he would also ensure potholes were fixed and rubbish collected, improve high-mast street lighting, deal with issues of overcrowded homes and alleviate unemployment.

The PAC’s ward 37 candidate, Tulani Pike, said the party had a good track record in fighting crime in Nyanga East. “It is the only organisation that is close to the youth and able to speak their language.” He said the PAC had been instrumental in fighting gangsterism in this community from the days of “Ntsara”, a known criminal. He was further spurred on to make himself available as a candidate after a murder took place on his office doorstep. An armed Oyama Mantashe had attempted to rob social development MEC Albert Fritz when he was shot dead by Fritz’s bodyguard.

Pike, whom the PAC described as having a “sound educational background”, government and corporate experience, said he offered the ward “leadership that has been lacking there for many years”.