Sinethemba Matiwane was elected Ward 73 councillor in August 2016. He explained that his term has not been easy as councillors suffer abuse from residents even though they do more than what is expected, like making sacrifices on weekends to attend to service delivery complaints.
He added that the role of a councillor is to be a liaison between the community and the council. They are not expected to phone the ambulance or the police.
Matiwane’s top priorities in his ward are:
• The lifts issue at Deneys Conradie Residentia and Pauline Davis Court.
The lift issue has been a problem for years, which has left the flats on the top floor vacant as the elderly are unable to walk up the stairs.
• Renovation of the Benoni Town Hall.
The municipality is losing revenue as long as the Town Hall remains closed. There are limited places for events, which result in public meetings being held in smaller numbers or tents being hired.
• Building a community hall in the Kingsway informal settlement.
The purpose of the hall would be to assist the community with a place to host community functions. The multi-purpose hall will also keep the youth active.
• Illegal Zama Zamas.
These illegal miners are damaging council infrastructure. They damage sewerage pipes to use the water to clean the gold.
• Benoni Plaza.
Once the vacant damaged buildings are demolished the plaza will be much easier to manage and also assist in reducing the crime rate, as criminals will not have any place to hide.
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The challenges in Matiwane’s ward are:
• Drugs: it has affected children in schools and the majority of the drug users are not from the area.
“I have been meeting with the EMPD, but as long as there is a market for drugs it will continue.”
• Crime: the theft of the fuse in electric boxes has increased, leading council to become innovative in preventing it.
• Hawkers: hawkers are trading anywhere without permits.
Scrapyards have also become one of the biggest contributors to the increase in crime. They also have negative effects on the environment.
• Illegal dumping: vagrants, businesses and residents are responsible for this and once it happens it becomes the resident’s problem to clean, which could result in financial loss if they have to hire someone to clean it up.
Panel beaters who do their job on pavement are also contributing to the dumping.
Matiwane added that he is happy to see that residents are using the MyEkurhuleni App and calling the call centre to lodge complaints.
