Paul van Straaten pledges tough action on Ward 37 service delivery

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

Potholes, damaged roads and traffic signals. There is a 12-month plan to GPS-audit every street, log faults on the MyCoE App and a public map, use 40% of the salary fund for emergency patching, and enforce the City’s SLA of 24 hours for potholes and four hours for major traffic lights.

Regarding streetlights and overgrown public spaces, we look at launching ward rangers youth stipends to report theft and clean verges, push for vandal-proof aluminum cables and solar LEDs, and publish weekly photo updates.

Open drug dealing, vagrancy and criminality: addressed fully in question three.

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

I will enforce SLAs and create a public outage logbook with daily WhatsApp updates. I will also run a Billing War; therefore, ban more than one estimated reading in three months, hold bi-weekly finance office hours in Ward 37, and require the city to prove charges with meter photos.

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

I will convene SAPS, EMPD and CPF in one daily command group and reinstate the Ward 37 Safety Forum. I will enforce 30-minute response targets, run weekly joint operation Hlapa Ward 37, map drug hotspots for escalation to provincial units, and audit illegal connections and problem properties for legal action.

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

I will publish a daily Ward 37 Outage Logbook, a public dashboard of faults and billing queries, and hold a Thursday 09h00 War Room with Energy techs to publish restoration times.

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

I will enforce by-laws equally for all businesses, shut down unlicensed operations, require compliance with health and trading laws, and prioritise legal local employment and local SMMEs.

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

I will request council to provide suitable land for resettlement in line with legal processes, to address illegality and safety concerns.

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

Full ward audit, emergency SMME patching, adopt-a-light/park, hidden camera traps for dumpers with R2500 fines, and for the public before/after reporting.

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

I support 100% area-based allocation and will demand quarterly publication of rates collected vs money spent in Ward 37. I will vote no on budgets that hide ward allocations, at least 60% of collections for maintenance in the ward.

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

I will clean and secure public spaces like Alberton Dam and parks to make streets safe to walk, and link vulnerable residents to Social Development, SASSA and job opportunities via a weekly office desk.

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

I pledge 40% of my salary into a transparent Ward 37 Service Delivery Trust with monthly statements. I will publish three measurable targets – lights, dumping, and response times – and if I fail to show real improvement within 18 months, I will resign.

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.