Michael Basch pledges stronger service delivery and accountability in Ward 38

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

When I talk to my neighbours in Brackenhurst and Brackendowns, I hear the same three frustrations. The roads, streetlights and pipes are falling apart. The power and water are unreliable, even though we pay more every year. And too many of us don’t feel safe in our own streets.

None of these problems is beyond fixing. What’s missing is someone who refuses to let them slide. I have spent 17 years in public life learning how this city works and where its budget goes.

I will log every problem, chase every deadline and stand up in council until Ward 38 gets the service it pays for. We deserve better, and together we will get it.

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

Services don’t only fail because of a lack of money. They fail because nobody follows through. I will be the councillor who follows through.

I will record, track, and report back on every complaint brought to me. I will meet with the water, electricity, roads, and waste depots every month and bring you the results: what was fixed, what wasn’t, and why.

If a department keeps letting us down, I will take it to the council chamber, the relevant committee, and even the city manager, and keep it there until it is resolved. Your bill should buy you a service, and I will make sure it does.

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

Every parent should be able to let their children play outside, and every resident should be able to walk to their car at night without fear. That is what I want for Ward 38.

I will bring together everyone already fighting for our safety: our police, the Community Policing Forum, neighbourhood watches and security companies.

We will meet monthly and share what is happening openly. I will use every lever the municipality has: working lights, cleared open spaces, and abandoned buildings dealt with by visible metro police.

As a party, we have committed to increasing the EMPD, to have more boots on the ground, but also to create specialised units to deal with issues such as drugs.

Safety is a team effort, and I will make sure the City pulls its weight by joining the necessary departments to resolve bylaw issues, fix the small problems, and you fix the big ones too.

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

You should never have to wonder what your councillor is doing. I will come to you every quarter, in different corners of the ward, and report on what was done and what is still outstanding.

Every month you will get a written update on WhatsApp, email and social media.

Ward committees will be open and working, not ceremonial. Before any big decision about our ward, you will be asked first, not told afterwards. This ward belongs to the people who live in it, and I will lead it that way.

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

I run a small business, so I know the sleepless nights: the outage that ruins a production run, the application stuck for months, the invoice that isn’t paid.

Small businesses are the heartbeat of this community, and they deserve a councillor who has their back.

I will help local businesses cut through red tape and push for faster municipal turnaround. I will build a ward business network so local businesses buy from each other, compete for municipal work, and hire local labour on every project in the ward. When our businesses grow, our young people get jobs. It’s that simple.

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

A ward is only as strong as its most forgotten household. Wherever residents in Ward 38 live without proper water, sanitation, lighting, or refuse collection, I will find them, listen to them, and fight for them.

They will have a seat at the ward committee and a voice at every report-back meeting. I will make sure every qualifying household is registered for the free basic services it is entitled to.

Dignity is not a privilege for some suburbs. It is a right for every resident, and I will treat it that way.

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

Our residents have been so frustrated they’ve been filling potholes themselves, only to be told not to. That says everything about how badly the system is failing us. I’m not going to ask you to accept it any longer.

You will have a ward WhatsApp line to report problems, and I will escalate everything daily and follow it to completion.

I will fight for a planned repair programme for our roads and streetlights, not patchwork. Sewage spills will get urgent attention, and we will replace failing pipes. Dumping hotspots will be cleared, watched and fined. Let’s take pride in our streets again.

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

It’s your money, and you have every right to know where it goes. I have gone through Ekurhuleni’s budget line by line in the council chamber, and I will bring that same scrutiny to every rand spent in Ward 38.

I will publish every project: what it is, who is doing it, what it costs, and when it will be finished. I will be on site, checking the work with my own eyes.

If a job is late, shoddy, or overpriced, everyone will know, and I will take it all the way. Honest government starts with open books, and mine will always be open.

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

Our young people have talent and ambition. What they often lack is a door to walk through.

I will create a ward opportunities board that connects them to learnerships, internships, and jobs, and I will ask local businesses to open their doors.

For women, I will push for safe, well-lit public spaces and back women-owned businesses and cooperatives. For older and vulnerable residents, I will make sure nobody misses out on the rebates and support they are entitled to, and that everyone can take part in community life.

I will partner with our churches, NGOs and community groups, because when this community stands together, nobody gets left behind.

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

Don’t take my word for it. Check my work. That is my pledge to you.

Within my first 100 days, I will publish a clear Ward 38 plan with targets you can measure. Every quarter, I will report back against those targets, face to face, with the good news and the bad. My phone number will be public, and I will answer every message.

I have built things before. I helped launch a 15-member caucus that punched far above its weight, and I led ActionSA as the regional chairperson in Ekurhuleni from 20 branches to 70 in under six months. Now I want to bring that same energy home to Ward 38. Let’s build something we can all be proud of.

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.