New Bedfordview Ward Councillor

Mrs Jill Ada Humphreys of the Democratic Alliance (DA) was the victor of the 2014 IEC by-elections for ward 20 held on July 2.

The election victory means she is the councillor for the Bedfordview area.

4467 people from ward 20 voted in this year’s by-election with Clr Humphreys, a Bedfordview resident for 36 years, attaining 97.34 percent of the votes. The ward was contested by Ms Monica Mnguni of the African National Congress (ANC) and Clr Humphreys.

“I have lived in Bedfordview for a long time and I understand the community well. I have served in various community organisations and have run the Bedfordview Garden Club for 20 years,” said Clr Humphreys.

She said she has a “real sense of what this job means and has no illusions as to what this job entails”.

“I feel the responsibility to the community deeply,” said Clr Humphreys.

The ward was previously represented by the DA and became vacant as a result of Clr Michele Clarke being elected to serve in the Provincial Legislature.

Clr Humphreys served on the ward committee and worked with Clr Clarke for 10 years as her branch chairperson.

“I am aware of how effective Clr Clarke has been. She leaves big shoes for me to fill however, I feel reasonably well prepared because I have had shadowed her for that length of time. Clr Clarke has made a lot available to me in terms of information as to how to go about things,” said Clr Humphreys.

She said she has a lot of work to do however, she feels confident because of her practical and hands-on exposure to the field.

“My job is to play a mouth-piece for the community. I am a conduit here for people to contact and to expedite the solving of issues as effectively as possible,” she said.

When asked what she believes will be the biggest challenge in the Bedfordview area, Clr Humphreys said that she believes there are important projects that were started in the community that need to be completed.

“One of the challenges is the completion of the Oriel Park rehabilitation. The rehabilitation will be completed. I have been meeting with officials. Its completion is not something that will happen overnight however, there are processes taking place and I have confidence our officials will deal with it competently. Probably not in the time-frame the community would like but the construction will be continuing during the next budget year,” said Clr Humphreys.

Clr Humphrey said organised crime is another challenge in Bedfordview.

“Sadly Bedfordview has become a perceived haven for organised crime. Obviously Radovan Krejcir’s name is in the media all the time. Thankfully he is no longer in the area. However, we cannot ignore the ripple effect of the crimes that took place in the area. We as a community should remain cautious and wary,” said Clr Humphreys.

She hopes to get Kerbside Recycling going and also make the Bill Steward Nature Reserve a place that can be enjoyed in safety by the public.

Clr Humphreys started a Facebook page titled, ‘Watching Wychwood’.

The page is a forum for residents to report service delivery problems in the Bedfordview area.

“Residents are more than welcome to let me know about water leaks, sewage spill and power and water outages in the area on the Facebook page, via email or phone call,” said Clr Humphreys.

Residents of ward 20 can contact Clr Humphreys on 082 450-0128.

@BedfordJourno