Our meeting is open

Doug Grewar, AbaQulusi Residents Association (ARA) Chairman, writes:-

THE first 2015 committee meeting of the AbaQulusi Residents Association (ARA) will be at the Risen Son Academy on the corner of Utrecht and West Streets behind Vryheid High School at 5:30pm on Monday, January 19.

The meeting is open to all members and prospective members who, after committee business is finished, will be able to ask questions or make reports. We have to set a date for our AGM and plan our 2015 program. We hope to re-start the Paddadam Clean-up Project when it dries up a bit.

A hopeful sign is that many members of the African community have joined the ARA’s FB page and I would like to inform them that they are most welcome to attend our meeting so that we can share ideas on how to improve service delivery in AbaQulusi. Only by all residents of AbaQulusi working together can improvements be achieved.

Unfortunately President Zuma did not respond to the ARA’s request to replace our non-performing council with an administrator so we are stuck with the present council until the next local government elections when we hope residents will vote with their brains instead of with their hearts.

The question that voters should ask themselves is, “Did my councillor achieve anything positive for my ward and for the rest of AbaQulusi during his term of office?” We should vote for those who produce results regardless of what party they belong to.

All we can do is appeal to them to rise above petty political party squabbles and do something good for the residents who voted for them. Our Mayor came in with some very good promises and positive attitude but these promises have not been fulfilled. We know the frustrations and obstructions that she faces, but we hope that in 2015 she overcomes these challenges and delivers some positive achievements.