WARD 31, a melting pot of cultural, religious, and social diversity, has welcomed a new councillor, Akkshay Singh.

“I am here, not just as a DA member, but I am here to represent every single person in Ward 31 regardless of political choices,” Singh said.

He applauded former councillor Remona McKenzie for the work she had accomplished, and plans to improve on it.

High on Ward 31’s challenges is youth unemployment, which largely gives rise to rampant homelessness. “Other issues which may not be unique to Ward 31 are horrible potholes, power outages due to failing infrastructure, illegal dumping and neglect, frequent water cuts and low pressure, and lack of adequate working streetlights,” Singh added.

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“Coming in as a councillor, I intend to address these challenges individually. My experience in the business and corporate world will allow me to showcase and introduce opportunities to the unemployed youth.”

Regarding failing infrastructure, Singh admitted that these issues are not new. “Previous councillors have raised these matters with Council before, but not much has been done. I plan to push for upgrading of the power stations and renewal of power cables to meet modern standards, and to accommodate the growing population of the ward, and illegal connections.”

Singh said in the coming days he will visit different pockets of the community to identify real issues and rope in different stakeholders to come up with a solution.

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