WITH the 2026 Local Government Elections just around the corner, councillors will be elected for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities across the country’s nine provinces.

This week, the Berea Mail took to the streets of Ward 32 to meet and greet the councillor candidate who is competing for the hot seat come the November 4 Local Government Elections.

Born and raised in Durban, Sharmaine Sewshanker is currently a DA PR councillor in Ward 26 (South Beach, North Beach, and parts of Umgeni).

Also read: Candidate aims for hijacked buildings in Ward 32

She has 10 years of experience in the eThekwini Council, “fighting without fear or favour”.
“I live in the challenges as people do: service failures, water issues, and promenade. I have held the City accountable for water and sewer failures, championed our fishing piers, and stood with the community through riots, floods, fires, and outages. I stood because we deserve better,” Sewshanker said.

If elected as the ward councillor, Sewshanker promises to prioritise fixing water leaks within 48 hours, increase Metro Police visibility, clean the ward, fix street lights, support fishing, tourism and surfing small businesses.

A simple walk on the promenade, chatting to the elderly or talking to residents is what makes her accessible, Sewshanker said.

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