Ward councillors ready to take on 2016
Ward councillors have plans and goals for their areas this year.
LOCAL ward councillors are putting plans into action for their respective wards this year.
Ward 31 councillor, Jethro Lefevre, has two projects he wants to tackle before the elections this year, and has four months to see these come to fruition.
“My first project is to have the creche in Lacey Road Informal Settlement built. I have had help from Durpro and Andre Lombaard from Paint and Pave who have kindly offered to revamp and fence the creche to make it child friendly. It really was horrendous the last time I was there,” he said.
He said he also aimed to get parking issues outside The Atrium centre dealt with, where trucks were illegally parking and blocking the road.
“I hope this will be sorted out by the construction of the skate park in the park opposite. The skate park is another of my goals and I will be meeting with Parks and Recreation at the end of January to discuss the next step. I took the idea to the department and they really liked it and have bought into the idea,” said Lefevre.
He said the skate park would hopefully be completed by May and the play area in the ground opposite would also be upgraded.
Ward 27 councillor, Martin Meyer, said he would be building on community involvement in his ward, such as the Greyville Tennis Court clean-up last month.
“I hope to get the community involved in cleaning up and together hold the municipality accountable for the lack of service delivery in the area. There has been an increase in strange goings-on by Council, such as the Stables debacle, and as councillors we need to be more vigilant to ensure the city's meagre income is spent for the benefit of the community,” he said.
Meyer said as it was election year, he aimed to ensure residents checked their registration details and ensure they participated in the democratic process to ensure Durban has the government it deserves.
Nicole Graham, councillor of ward 33, said at the end of 2015 she noticed the serious demise of municipal service, especially with DSW and the Parks Department.
“I was inundated with complaints from residents. The big challenge is to ensure accountability in this difficult climate. Contracts need to be put in place and the big issue is to ensure services are delivered and the municipality is committed to do what it has promised. An example of this is the security issue at Congella Park,” she said.
Graham said in her committee shecontinues to mitigate lavish spending on events and functions in Durban.
“It will also help if the community gets involved by contacting the municipality, along with me, to put pressure on the city to ensure services are rendered,” she said.
