Sophiatown residents adopt new mandate
SOPHIATOWN — A newly formed resident's association with big plans for the community.
The community of Sophiatown has a newly formed resident’s and rate payer’s association. The Sophiatown Resident’s Association (SRA) is setting out to make some real changes in the area.
Co-chaiperson Kevin Baaitjies said that the association plans on implementing youth initiatives.
“We are fully committed to being community-driven. We are still in the early stages of this association and thus ironing out some issues, but we will be engaging with different projects with government and non-governmental institutions.”
The executive is made up of Kevin Baaitjes and Tilly Michaels as the two co-chairs, Mark Eccles as the treasurer, Ivan Samdaan as the secretary and Ninito Melo. All of them either live or work in Sophiatown.
The Executive is seeking to mobilise the community around a matrix of portfolios that it hopes will enable members of the community to participate meaningfully in grass-roots initiatives that will lead to a better life for all of Sophiatown’s residents.
Promoting an ethos of empowerment and proactive interaction with local government departments and initiatives (such as the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Johannesburg Water and Jozi@work) and with local NGOs and civic groups, the resident’s association hopes to make a contribution towards job creation, social upliftment and economic development.
According to treasurer Mark Eccles, the executive committee is actively seeking interested residents’ involvement in numerous projects including:
• Cultural heritage
• Youth development
• Safety and security
• Economic development
• Environmental affairs (Melville Koppies, City Parks)
• Service delivery (PikitUp, JRA, City Power Joburg Water)
• Business forum
• Social and health
• Community liaison and media
• Town planning / Urban development (illegal building, bylaw infringements, illegal dumping, previous dump site inactivity)
• Religious leaders’ forum.
“We have a mixed race composition in Sophiatown with differing social and cultural histories. We have our shortcomings, including growing unemployment and debilitating poverty. We will, however, strive to re-establish this suburb as the vibrant non-racial community that will be a shining example of what fellow South Africans are striving toward,” Eccles said.
Details: Kevin Baaitjies 082 334 0625.
