Newly elected DA ward 92 councillor faces many challenges ahead
"My vision for ward 92 is to ensure that basic service delivery is met on a regular basis."
Leanne de Jager was elected as the new DA ward councillor for ward 92 after the Tshwane by-elections on 19 May.
De Jager wanted to thank all the DA voters who went to the polls.
She has worked for the department of international relations and cooperation for 25 years and served at seven South African embassies, namely New York at the United Nations mission; Mbabane, Swaziland; Rabat, Morocco; Cairo, Egypt; Amman, Jordan; Kigali, Rwanda and Bamako in Mali with short stints at others.
De Jager joined the DA as a staff member in 2007 after returning from Mali and seeing abject poverty, Mali being the seventh poorest country in the world and wanting to make a difference.
She also worked at the regional office in Gauteng South before becoming the national events manager – arranging and managing protests, marches, conferences, rallies until 2020 when she joined the regional office in Gauteng North.
De Jager was public relations councillor in Tshwane in ward 58 between 2016 and 2019 and served on social development and worked extensively with the homeless, substance abuse, clinics, etc.
“My vision for ward 92 is to ensure that basic service delivery is met on a regular basis. Steady electricity and water, repair and maintenance of potholes, street lights, water leaks and parks.
“I am involved in communities’ parks initiatives as well as residents associations and am very interested in maintaining and preserving heritage sites. I am also actively engaged with stakeholders, including but not limited to the shadow deputy minister of public works,” she said.
Venning Park falls within this ambit and she has secured the commitment of the Turkish Embassy for the donation of a 1 000 saplings from the Turkish government as a Friendship Garden to the people of South Africa.
“The mayor’s office has given an ongoing commitment to the rejuvenation of the park and the results thereof can already be seen. This is an ongoing project. There are many other such sites and buildings.”
She added that she is aware of crime in particular in the Arcadia and Sunnyside areas and discussions are being held in this regard with stakeholders.
“Buildings being used for non-permitted purposes are also an issue being pursued actively,” De Jager said.
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