BEREA’S local ward councillors are ready to tackle a number of issues in their respective wards during the course of 2014.
Ward 27 councillor, Martin Meyer, said number one on his list would be to focus on the student hostel in Greyville. He said the city was still not acting on this, despite the fact it had been almost a year since the public were able to comment on this issue.
“Westgate Gardens is my next project. I want to keep pushing for a full audit at the housing complex to recognise the real residents. The city will not upgrade the buildings as too many residents are not paying rent,” he said.
The problem of derelict buildings is another thorny issue Meyer hopes to attend to. He aims to go out with five different city departments to point out abandoned properties in the ward to ensure the city has them all on its ‘to do’ list.
“This is possibly a way forward with this issue. I will work with Save Our Berea and the CPF on this project. My last goal is to try and convince the city the ward needs a community hall and a mobile clinic,” he said.
Nicole Graham said she was still getting to grips with her ward, which is big and diverse.
“I have only been the councillor of ward 33 for four months, so identifying issues will take time. I plan to drive around and meet with interested and concerned people. I plan to focus on parks and open spaces as most in the ward are in a fairly bad state. I hope to work with the city and businesses to clean them up, starting with Baxter Park,” she said.
Graham said her next big project would be the Umbilo Congella Sports Club. She will be meeting with the city to discuss this as the rehabilitation of the club was tabled in council.
“This is a big concern and I hope to get a lot of people involved in this. Another project will be developing a youth programme as a lot of youth in the area have no skills or means to develop their skills. I will be getting the South Durban Basin and other stakeholders involved in this,” she said.
Graham said other issues, such as abandoned buildings, would also receive her attention.
Jethro Lefevre, ward 31 councillor, said: “I would like to get the urban agricultural project in Lacey Road fully completed. I hope to have the nursery open by the end of the year. My goal is for it to become a sustainable village within a city. The groundwork has been done by the parks department. The next phase will be a training education programme teaching involved residents about propagating seedlings. I hope to get them on a SEDA course on SMMEs.”
Lefevre said he would also be tackling the myriad of town planning issues in the ward focussing on Sparks Road and Randles Road.
“Land use management issues will be the next on my list,” he said.
