The two tales of Ward 97
WARD 97 - As it stands we are led by a councillor who has won the confidence of the community that voted for him to manage their affairs but is clueless on what needs to be done. We are leaderless.
ANC Ward 97 branch secretary Phapano Phashe writes: The reality of Ward 97 is that it is a ward where there is no conviction and leadership from the DA Ward Councillor, Jaco Engelbrecht, to deal with substantive issues which affect our people on a daily basis.
To relegate issues of service delivery at Taylor Road to the ANC is to take away responsibility that was legitimately given to the DA which has been governing the ward since the inception of local elections. The facts are that in the ward we are led by a leader who has no moral conviction to collectively work to solve the problems of the people. Let us also put it on record as the ANC in Ward 97 to say we have done our atmost best to consult with the councillor to address issues relating to all the different informal settlement in the ward but there is no will by the Councillor to address such issues, instead the Councillor has been colluding with businesses, property owners and some community members to ensure that poor people are not adequately assisted.
As an opposition party in the ward there are several interventionist approaches that we have come up with, in consultation with the Housing Department and other key departments to solve the identified problems. But also in acknowledgment that the properties inhabited by community members are in private hands, we have created consultation forums with the owners of such properties to see how we can better address the issues in a manner that is fair and just for all parties. But all this should happen within a reality that the city has little bargaining power as the properties are in private hands.
We are also working with national government to address the lack of amenities in the ward, such as lack of public transport, public schools, public clinics, police stations and other necessities which are lacking.
Though our ward is riddled with various challenges, in terms of national identity the ward is a model ward were Whites, Blacks, Indians, Coloureds, Chinese and other races have collectively chosen to reside next in peace alongside to side. The challenges are also in a space where there are many opportunities of development towards the West Rand and in the West Rand but in order for the opportunities to be realised we need a leadership collective which puts its people in the centre and dedicated in rallying all community members towards the same vision.
As it stands we are led by a councillor who has won the confidence of the community that voted for him to manage their affairs but is clueless on what needs to be done. We are leaderless.
