Ward 99 councillor resigns to take up position in Gauteng provincial legislature

After eight years of service, Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk has announced her resignation.

She explained that the past eight years have been an incredible journey, one marked by both bitter and sweet moments, experiences that have shaped her as a resident and as a leader, in ways she could never have foreseen.

Van Dyk is not done with politics, as she will now be taking a role as a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature. She explained that the reaction from Ward 99 residents has been positive, and they have been wishing her well.

Read more: Ward 99 councillor hopes December will bring rest and relaxation

“I have received an incredible amount of well wishes, and that has been comforting because you finally see how much you mean to them. I’ve been very happy to serve, and I’ve built a good relationship with the residents and residents associations (RA).”

She added that her residents knew that she was not going to stand another term as the ward councillor.

“I don’t think you can be a ward councillor for more than 10 years. The job is extremely difficult, and very demanding. I was going to see through my term but also try and train someone around the area to be my successor.”

Van Dyk said that she is proud of the work she has done for the ward. “It’s been ages of hard work and that makes it a hard pill to swallow.”

One of the things she’s most proud of is building up a lot of community activations, which led to more RAs being formed.

“There were a lot of areas that did not have RAs. Because of other areas that had them, I saw the value of that, not only from my perspective but for making residents’ lives easier, and knowing their communities. I basically leave now with every single area in Ward 99 having one.”

Also read: Service delivery and communication the focus in Ward 99

She added that was a big thing to set up, working side by side with residents. Van Dyk further stated that her political victories were not as much as she would have loved to see, but that they were victories worth being celebrated.

“We got a lot of pavements redone. We have two problematic substations, the Windsor, which for the last two years has received a lot of rejuvenation, and the work is still on going, and the Parkhurst, which is currently being renovated and will help keep the power stable.”

She also named multiple major water projects across the ward, many in the Blairgowrie area, that brought much relief to pressure issues the suburb faced, as well as reconfiguration of the Linden Water System, which stabilised the loss of water in Linden Extension.

One of her biggest regrets is that the city never met the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) request to fence Emma Park.

For her next journey, Van Dyk said that she is proud, and it means a lot to her and her career. “When I became a councillor, I loved my first term, and I wanted more. The next was always to try and move to province, to be a voice there. There is no better training to be a member of parliament or legislature than being a ward councillor, because you know exactly what residents are facing, and I will take that knowledge with me on my next journey.”

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Related article: DA calls win in Ward 99, thanks residents and pledges to continue getting things done