DA and ANC make bold promises ahead of Ward 73 by-elections on 4 and 5 April
Ward 73 by-elections after the DA councillor, Mia Snyman stepped down.
The debate between the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) on who will serve the residents of Ward 73 better after the by-elections, is heating up.
The two political parties are contesting the by-election of the ward after the position became vacant in December when the previous DA Councillor, Mia Snyman stepped down citing alleged abuse.
The DA is now pulling out all stops to retain the ward while the ANC believes it can make a meaningful contribution to strengthen public participation in local government.
Eleanor Huggett is expected to contest the position as the DA candidate, and Stanley Letsoalo will stand as the ANC candidate. Both have made bold promises and both say they are the right candidates for the job which has seen two councillors resigning.
Letsoalo said there seems to be a trend of DA councillors not staying long enough to build a working relationship with residents in Ward 73.
According to Letsoalo they had by-elections in this ward in November 2015. He said this is the second time in a very short space of time that a DA candidate stepped down.
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“Now hot on the heels of the Local Government Elections, we are having another by-election following the resignation of yet another DA ward councillor,” said Letsoalo.
“I think it is time that the community entrusts the running of the ward to a party that has no intention to abandon them along the way.”
He said one of his focus areas if he is elected to represent the community of Ward 73, will be to work side by side with the community to ensure good working relations with the people.
He said the ANC will address crime (drugs, prostitution, housebreakings and hijackings), social integration, and sports and recreation facilities for the youth. They will also elevate municipal responses to issues from the ward, regularly brief residents on municipal service delivery programmes and deepen public participation and accountability of local authority to the community.
On the other hand, Huggett plans to address all residents’ issues to the best of her ability and with the DA policy of providing service and rooting out corruption they are already seeing change. “It is important to remember that Johannesburg has suffered 22 years of backlog and abuse. Change takes time but it will happen,” said Huggett.
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“City of Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba’s 10-point plan clearly states that the DA strongly supports development in all sorts of areas. It will, however, only be possible if it is properly managed and controlled with transparency and full public participation.”
She said Ward 73 is a dynamic, diverse, challenging and exciting ward and will need a team to sort out the many issues. “I promise to communicate regularly, to be honest about all issues and do everything I can to serve Ward 73 to be best of my ability if [I am] elected.”
The by-elections will be held on 4 and 5 April at Paterson Park, Norwood Primary School, Houghton Primary School and Killarney Country Club.
Details: www.joburg.org.za
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