According to the Ekurhuleni City Planning Department, the number of voters now exceeds 1.5 million.
This means 11 new wards will be added to the Ekurhuleni Municipality’s current 101 wards.
If the proposed changes are made, only 19 of the 101 wards will remain unchanged.
Daniel Sebake, from the Municipal Demarcation Board, said the growth will require most wards to make space for additional wards.
“A ward has to be changed if the number of voters is way above 15 per cent of the average determined for the ward,” he said.
“The voting district is then split, to allocate some of the people to other wards, to ensure that each ward has an even spread of voters.”
However, not everyone is pleased with the proposed changes.
Ward 28, which currently falls under Clr Mary Goby, may be divided into three separate wards.
“If my re-application is approved, I will be allocated a ward, which means I might get a whole different area next year,” said Goby.
Malanie Haggard, Ward 28 PR councillor, said Mary has built a strong relationship with her community which may be damaged if the changes are implemented.
“She has built a strong relationship with her community for five years, now she might not come back,” said Haggard.
Clr Imtiaz Loonat, of Ward 29, is also not pleased with the changes and will appeal against the initial proposal made.
“With the new demarcation, Ward 29 will not include the current mix of economic classes,” said Loonat.
He said he would prefer the inclusion of the Emandleni informal settlement in his ward, as it would allow for better service delivery to the area.
Graham Gersbach, DA member of the provincial legislature, said members of the demarcation board do not always know the communities, but demarcate with mathematics in mind.
“One of the guidelines is to retain the wards as close to what they are as possible,” said Gersbach.
Tsholofelo Koopedi, Wattville Ward 31 resident, differs in his opinion and said he is satisfied with the new proposal.
Residents of Wattville opposed the initial draft in February, which would have split up the area.
“After a public meeting, we got 3 500 signatures which we sent to the demarcation board,” explained Koopedi.
With parts of Lakefield and Farrarmere possibly falling under wards in Boksburg, the demarcation board said these suburbs will remain under Benoni.
“The ward boundaries are meant for elections, even a single suburb can fall within two or three wards,” said Sebake.
“This process, of ward demarcation, is only meant to distribute people evenly so that there is no overcrowding on the day of elections.”
At a meeting held on October 31, at the Actonville Community Hall, city planing representatives stressed that the changes will not affect service delivery or the payment of rates and taxes.
With 11 new wards, the number of councillors will rise to 224, a change which raised concerns for Goby and Haggard.
The two are concerned that additional councillors will raise the costs and exacerbate strain on the city’s budget.
A broader meeting was due to be held on November 4 at the Boksburg City Hall.
It will start at 10am, and members of the public are urged to attend and raise their views.
After the meeting, members of the public will be given 10 days to make submissions to the Municipal Demarcation Board.
A final decision on how wards will be changed will be made in the first week of December.
To view the proposed demarcation, residents can visit the Municipal Demarcation Board’s website at wwwdemarcation.org.za.
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