Greenstone community against proposed move

The Greenstone community and the DA have objected to a proposal by the Municipal Dermacation Board (MDB) to move Greenstone, which is part of ward 32, to ward 81.

Councillor Bongani Nkomo, of ward 32, said in March this year that the MDB proposed that Greenstone be moved to ward 81. He said the proposal was motivated by the following reasons:

•  The number of wards in a metropolitan or local municipality must be equal to the number of ward councillors determined for the municipality in terms of section 22 (2).
•  The number of registered voters in each ward may not vary by more than 15 percent from the norm, where the norm is determined by dividing the total number of registered voters on the municipality’s segment of the common voters roll by the number of wards in the municipality.
•  The availability and location of a suitable place or places for voting and counting, if appropriate, taking into consideration:
•  Communication and accessibility.
•  Density of population.
•  Topography and physical characteristics and the number of voters that are entitled to vote within the required time frame.
•  The safety and security of voters and election material.
•  The safety and security of voters and election material.
•  Identifiable ward boundaries.

Clr Nkomo said the DA, with the assistance of the Greenstone community, has objected to this proposal on the fact that ward 32 consists of six suburbs, Greenstone, Modderfontein, Buccleuch, Linbro Park, Alexandra Ext 7 and Klipfonteinview.

“We propose that Alexandra ext 7 be moved into ward 105 (Tsutsumani) and Greenstone remains in ward 32, as Alexandra Ext 7 and Tsutsumani have common demographics, interests and challenges. This would allow the ward councillor to focus on a ward with common interests and demographics in a ward that is already extremely challenging. This recommendation complies with the criteria set out by the MDB,” said Clr Nkomo.

He said in his interaction with the residents of Greenstone, the MDB’s proposal was met with a lot of anger.

“Residents believed that this was a blatant attempt by the proposers to steal the ward from the DA. Residents felt aggrieved as they had voted for a DA ward councillor and were unwilling to be a part of ward 81, which is ANC run,” said Clr Nkomo.

He said the DA’s proposal has been provisionally accepted and the second round of objections were opened on August 27, where residents were given further opportunity to submit objections or recommendations.

Comment from the Municipal Demarcation Board was not received at the time of going to print.