The Economic Freedom Front candidate for Alex’s ward 107 Moshe Mphahlele is bracing for a celebration come 4th August when he predicted votes will have been counted, declaring him an incoming councillor.
Mphahlele based this on an assessment of the mood on the ground, the public’s displeasure with the incumbent ‘weak’ councillor, lack of development in the ward, and drawing from his popularity, a gene supposedly inherited from his late mother.
Mphahlele, with roots in GaMphahlele, Limpopo Province but born and bred in Alex, said his political and leadership traits evolved from local schools, his mother’s commitment to community service, an early introduction to business operations from a family crèche and his own car-wash business started when still at school.
“These taught me the basics of leadership, responsibility, accountability and the importance of listening and humility before one can know how to help others,” he said.
These, Mphahlele said, were values which the current authorities have abandoned hence the protests deriving from anger at broken promises which will continue if the current trend persists.
He cited the unhygienic conditions at the Helen Joseph Hostel where the incumbent councillor lives as a classic example of leadership abrogating its responsibility. He alleged the councillor has been in his position for many terms but failed to change the hostel’s abhorrent conditions; and also to eradicate shacks, claiming its because their occupiers don’t pay rates and taxes.
“This is contrary to Ubuntu principles of helping each other and is… divisive conduct based on class, ethnic and other consideration. Good leadership should act progressively, unite the residents, be fearless and, implement solutions to problems.”
When elected his party’s priorities will be to:
- Demolish and replace hostels with family houses at expropriated idle land nearby.
- Replace tenderpreneurs with residents in constructing their own homes under council supervision.
- Charge the rich higher tariffs for more revenue to support spacious housing. This is a bid to restore family dignity, unity, values and privacy, to avoid teenage girls seeking refuge with boyfriends resulting in unwanted pregnancies.
- Divert resources from the construction of cycle tracks, pavements, and the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit system to housing, and to eradicated all shacks in three years.
- Stop the bucket toilet system within the first month in office, eliminate all rats and, stop water leaks.
- Double the old age pension and disability grants to support decent lives for beneficiaries.
- Ensure contested land in Alex is shared equitably by those entitled to it.
- Keep clinics open for 24-hour service, in turn creating more employment.
- Promote and remunerate the police fairly to motivate them to fight crime, especially against drug lords; and to strengthen community patrols.
- Restore the taxi industry’s trust in government and train them well to obey traffic regulations.
- Develop quality, government-sponsored crèches in each ward for poor children; and recreational and sporting facilities to keep the youth active and away from drugs, alcohol and sex as recreation.
- Impose stiff sentences for backyard abortion clinics.
Mphahlele said corruption was a cancer government had failed to deal with and predicted the public will apply democracy by voting for the EFF to ensure change in his ward, Gauteng and all provinces.
