DA’s clean sweeps to retain Tshwane ward in municipal by-elections
“I will push for the upgrade of infrastructure and the complete overhaul of the streetlight network which is extensively compromised due to quick and cheap fixes,” says incoming ward councillor.
The DA has retained a Tshwane ward with a clean sweep of 77.55% of the votes in the recent municipal by-elections.
Ward 42 residents in the east of Pretoria took to the polls on August 3 to vote for a new councillor after former councillor Phillip Nel died in April.
Voting results:
DA – 77.55%
Freedom Front Plus – 19.31%
ANC – 2.51%
EFF – 0.51%
Ward 42 has been a DA-dominated ward and the party won it with 71.9% in the previous election.
“The results were not a surprise to me,” new councillor Shane Maas said after the results were published by the electoral commission.
Maas promised he would tackle the ward’s electricity problems.
“Rolling outages by Eskom and even Rand Water have a detrimental impact on the aged [electricity] infrastructure,” he said.
“I want to use the integrated development plan (IDP) and budget planning processes to fight for network upgrades, refurbishments and replacements where necessary in this ward.
“I will use my engineering skill sets to ensure that the business cases present for each IDP submission are sound and convincing for allocation.”
The ward also faced potholes, street light problems, frequent pipe bursts, home hijackings and vandalism.
“Some of these problems have quick fixes, some are born from systemic failings and will require time to resolve; but, I am up for the challenge and will not stop nagging officials to resolve the issues at hand,” he said.
Maas said the removal of old asbestos pipes that caused frequent pipe bursts was also important in his ward.
“I will push for the upgrade of infrastructure and the complete overhaul of the streetlight network which is extensively compromised due to quick and cheap fixes.”
Maas describes himself as a “Pretoria boy” who went to Glen High School and matriculated in 2001.
He has lived in the ward for 13 years and owned his home there for 11.
He is an industrial engineer by qualification.
“I have a wealth of technical and corporate experience working as a senior management consultant for various companies where I was a national health and safety manager. I am now already a third-term councillor moving from being a PR councillor to a ward councillor.
“During my political career, I have worked on the ground in communities in Atteridgeville, Pretoria Central and Olievenhoutbosch.”
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