Caleb Finn compares his first six months as a ward councillor to a roller-coaster ride filled with daily challenges and issues.
“But, despite all of this, I really love what I do and being able to try to make things better for the residents in my ward,” he added, smiling.
After the municipal elections on 3 August last year, he was elected as the new councillor for Ward 70 (Florida Park/ Hills/ North, Florida Robertville, Stormill, Lea Glen, Fleurhof, Lake Leases, Rand Leases and Florida Lake (east of Westlake Road). Although he has been involved with the community in some form or other for quite a while, this is his first time as a ward councillor, and the Record asked him about his experience so far.
According to him, the ward is plagued by a number of challenges, including frequent power failures caused by ageing infrastructure, vandalism and cable theft, delays with weekly Pikitup collections, grass cutting backlogs, an increase in crime and drug-related activities, illegal dumping, billing queries and multiple service delivery issues like potholes and tree pruning that is overdue.
“Some huge issues and challenges in the ward include the urban decay in the Florida Central Business District (CBD) and the area south of the railway line, empty factories, the high crime rate in the industrial areas and the multiple illegal mining sites in the ward which create dangerous situations for surrounding communities,” he said.
But, even though he is facing daily challenges, he has experienced some successes as well. “A new community park was created in Fleurhof Ext 5, Fleurhof Primary has received a new water connection after being without running water for the past two years and a lot of the maintenance issues at the Donovan Macdonald Retirement Centre have been addressed and most of them resolved. Some of the roads in the ward have been resurfaced, and more will be done in the coming financial year, and a community–city partnership has been established regarding maintenance of the Florida Cemetery,” Caleb said proudly.
He added that there are a few more changes in the pipeline, including the Florida Clinic upgrade as well as some improvements for Fleurhof. “This area faces many challenges, as it does not have community facilities like parks, a clinic or a library. There are also quite a few infrastructure issues, including the need for an electrical substation. The construction of a new substation is in the process of being approved and the other issues will be addressed as soon as budgets are allocated,” he said.
His action plan to improve his ward focuses mainly on the community, and that is why he will be concentrating on the improvement of service delivery to residents and helping them to get their issues attended to. By-law management and enforcement will also be a priority, and close working relationships with the police, Community Policing Forums (CPF) and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) will be formed.
He aims to involve the NGOs and city entities in creating opportunities for the ward’s unemployed youth and vulnerable people, as well as forming more city–community and business–community partnerships to assist with the massive maintenance backlogs currently experienced. “I would also like to engage the non-city entities, like Eskom and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), to take better care of their assets in the area,” he said.
He concluded by saying, “I will strive to continuously improve the communication between me and the residents, as an informed community is an empowered community.”
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