The ward councillor for Ward 71 has recently been inaugurated and she’s no stranger to the position. As the majority of the votes would have it, René Benjamin would be serving the ward for another five years.
René has been the councillor for this ward for the past five years and brought many projects and upgrades to various areas.
These projects include:
• Fibre rollout which started with Witpoortjie
• Current sewerage pipe replacements in Witpoortjie
• Davidsonville Library renovation
• A new substance abuse centre which is housed behind the Davidsonville Clinic
• A Plot 59 infrastructure project with Gauteng Province
• Plans for the new toilets at Rainbow Valley in Davidsonville which will kick off shortly
• A new clinic is being planned
• Others like the JOSHCO housing and electrical upgrade project
“Princess Clinic was the first to have extended clinic hours and I would like to see our other clinic in Davidsonville extend its hours, especially on the weekend,” she said.
“Having brought services to the residents like the Eight Days Programme where the team from the Expanded Social Package office came and registered residents on the ESP programme, I would like to have similar engagement with departments and bring these registered services to the residents, especially the youth and the elderly.”
René said she would continue to bring City officials to meet residents so that they could see the need in the community and hear the issues first-hand.
“I would like to see the unused space in our ward become beautiful, with safe parks with activities for everyone. Partnerships are key to building a community, and I believe strong partnerships can bring improved social and skills development, and improved safety,” she explained.
“Again I serve in the capacity as a member of the Legislature of the City (escalation of already logged service delivery issues that have not been resolved by the relevant entity) and not part of the Administration (admin is responsible for the service delivery).”
René would like to encourage residents to first log a call with the relevant department should they encounter an issue. Residents will then obtain a reference number and should the entity not resolve the matter within a reasonable time it can then be forwarded to the councillor for escalation.
Her areas include Princess AH, Batavia, Culembeeck, Roodepoort West, Reefhaven, Witpoortjie, Grobler Park, Lindhaven and Davidsonville. If you would like to contact René, give her a call on 073 734 0061 or send an email to ReneB@joburg.org.za.
