Samantha Nair prioritises service delivery and infrastructure in Ward 94

1. What are the three biggest challenges currently facing your ward, and how will you address them?

The three challenges contributing to poor service delivery in the City of Ekurhuleni, including Ward 94, are an insufficient budget, which leads to shortages of personnel, relevant equipment, and skills across departments. This results from years of mismanagement of Ekurhuleni’s municipal finances.

As a councillor, I plan to include all key projects in my IDP and conduct oversight visits to ensure projects run on time and within budget.

2. How will you improve basic service delivery such as water, electricity, refuse removal and road maintenance?

I will ensure the city adheres to the ward’s refuse removal timetable. Maintaining and improving the ward’s water and electricity infrastructure will be my top priority in the IDP. I will also support these departments by requesting additional budgets to help them meet their mandates.

3. What specific plans do you have to improve community safety and reduce crime in the ward?

I will encourage communities to be more active in helping the CPF. This will help decrease crime in the ward. I will also ensure that the EMPD strictly upholds the city’s by-laws. I will work closely with my ward committee members to extend resources to residents, based on their different portfolios, to address social ills that contribute to crime.

4. How will you ensure that residents are kept informed and involved in decisions affecting the community?

As a ward councillor, I am required to hold quarterly public meetings with residents; this will keep residents informed about all council decisions concerning Ward 94.

I will also use social media to reach a wider audience. I will build relationships with managers and officials from the different departments to strengthen communications and updates for residents.

5. What will you do to support local businesses, informal traders and job creation in the ward?

To support local businesses, I will push for local SMMEs to be given preference when projects are implemented in the ward. This will also help ensure locals are hired.

I will fight for improved services to encourage the private sector to operate in the ward and create jobs.

6. How will you improve conditions in informal settlements and underserved areas within the ward?

I will ensure that illegal informal settlements do not mushroom in the ward by having EMPD enforce by-laws. I will formalise existing settlements and provide basic services so citizens can live with dignity.

7. What is your plan to address infrastructure problems such as potholes, sewage spills, streetlights and illegal dumping?

Infrastructure maintenance has been neglected for years, compromising our quality of life. I will partner with the private sector for help.

8. How will you ensure municipal funds allocated to the ward are spent transparently and effectively?

I will encourage residents to attend IDP meetings so that together we can hold the city responsible for funds allocated to our ward.

I will use mechanisms such as asking questions of the council to monitor the budgets of different departments.

9. What programmes or initiatives would you introduce for young people, women and vulnerable residents in the community?

All citizens deserve the dignity of work. I will ensure that appointment processes for ward projects are fair and that the right people are hired. Working with the private sector, I will create special projects to empower women, youth, and people with disabilities through ward projects.

10. If elected, how will residents be able to hold you accountable and measure your progress over the next five years?

During my 5 years as a ward councillor, I will make sure every resident feels heard. They will know someone spoke on their behalf at council. I will use my term to fight for residents so they see value in the rates they pay.

Caxton Local Media invited Ekurhuleni mayoral candidates, as confirmed at the time of publication, to participate in a question-and-answer interview, giving voters a chance to learn more about their plans, priorities, and hopes for the city ahead of the Local Government Elections on November 4.

The views expressed in these questionnaires are those of the respective candidates and do not represent the views of Caxton Local Media or any of its publications.

The answers are intended solely to provide voters with information about the candidates contesting the election and to help them make informed choices at the polls.