Clr Humphreys prepares for her next term
She said in the new term she plans to address the outstanding issues.
The returning councillor for ward 20, Clr Jill Humphreys, said she looks forward to the next five years of serving in Bedfordview.
Clr Humphreys took over the reigns when former ward councillor, MPL Michele Clarke, was elected into the Gauteng provincial legislature in 2014.
She said although she had many plans for the ward within the two years, not all of them could be realised.
“When I took over, my priority was to make sure that potholes, water leaks and sewage problems were fixed. It was necessary to keep these working properly as they are part of everyday life,” said Clr Humphreys.
She said in the new term she plans to address the outstanding issues.
“There are a number of concerning issues that have since come to light, but in addressing them we also need to make sure that we address and deliver on plans set in 2014,” she said.
She said her Take Back the Mountain campaign for the Bill Stewart Nature Reserve is still a priority.
“I am still working on getting the space declared a conservancy. The mountain has flora and fauna and flora that needs to be protected. We cannot just let it be a haven for criminals. Residents also need to occupy these spaces,” said Clr Humphreys.
She said, as part of the long term plan, she intends to have security personnel present on a 24/7 basis.
Clr Humphreys said a pavement garden competition was still on the cards.
“I will be introducing this soon, especially now that the community social media group is doing well,” she said.
She blamed the lack of political willingness for ongoing sewage issues.
“Instead, we keep having new developments popping up everywhere. You cannot expect the same system to deal with more and more volumes and yet no upgrades are being done,” she said.
Clr Humphreys said the water levels at the Signal Hill reservoir cannot continue to be measured manually.
“We are in desperate need of a telemetric system there. Officials should be able to know at any given time, what the levels of the water in the reservoir are,” she said.
She said Ekurhuleni needs to prepare for climate change.
“We need to start preparing ourselves and making sure that our city is resilient. Water recycling is an important part of that preparation. We must also recycle waste. The attitude of just chucking everything in the bin for the municipality to take it somewhere must change. Landfill sites are filling up, so we need to recycle as residents,” she said.
Clr Humphreys said there are employment opportunities to be gained if a proper system is put in place.
“There is no reason why we cannot incorporate the so-called informal recyclers into the system. That way we are able to minimise the waste that goes to landfills as well as create an opportunity for someone to make a decent living,” said Clr Humphreys.
