Action SA’s newly elected proportional representative (PR) councillor, Tumelo Shai, said his plan for the coming year is to serve the community more and build relationships with various municipal entities to enhance service delivery.

Having led community initiatives in the past, he said it is something he intends to do even more in 2026.

“Looking forward to 2026, I want to work with our community schools, such as Skeen Primary and East High. I want to ascertain what form of assistance they will need.”

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He pointed to two issues he wishes to address among young people, especially those from less privileged households who are often forced to go to school with worn-out shoes.

Shai said he hopes to help ensure that at least 20 children receive new school shoes. Furthermore, he said he also wants to donate sanitary pads to young girls who need them.

He said he intends to do this even if it requires using his own money. “I will also have to engage with community stakeholders to try to assist.”

On the matter of service delivery, he said that when he was still serving as Action SA chairperson for Ward 105, he was limited in terms of what he could do. But now, as a PR councillor, he is empowered to do more.

“When I had to launch a complaint, I had to talk to a middleman, but now, as a councillor, I can take issues directly to the speaker’s office. It is going to be easy.”

He noted several issues the community is grappling with, including potholes, decaying parks, and water- and electricity-related challenges, emphasising that these are the issues that have been brought to his attention.

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However, to address them efficiently, he said he needs to build relationships with various entities, including City Power, Johannesburg Roads Agency, Johannesburg Water and others.

“It is very important for us to build a relationship with all the entities that are in our government to make sure that work gets done. This will also ensure that they swiftly attend to our issues.”

Beyond the provision of services, Shai highlighted the importance of conscientising people about the impact of their behaviour on municipal infrastructure.

“Whenever you deliver services, you also have to educate people. If we are going to clean up and then be confronted with the same issue tomorrow, it means we didn’t address the root cause.

We need to educate people to ensure that they do not tamper with the proper functioning of municipal infrastructure.”

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