ANC councillor Imtiaz Loonat was elected as Ward 29 councillor in August 2019, and due to the pandemic, all major capital projects had to be put on hold due to a lack of funding.
Desmond Tutu once said: “There is only one way to eat an elephant; a bite at a time”, and that is how Loonat had tackled his role as councillor to his community.
During his term, he had managed to resurface streets, cleaned the paving in public spaces, raised funds to distribute over 5 000 food parcels throughout his ward with the assistance of other stakeholders, including the Ekurhuleni Food Bank that delivered 1 000 food parcels.
He had also taken up the role of liaison for the community and organisations that have assisted residents in the community with Covid-19 medication.
“I would rate service delivery on electricity, water and waste removal an eight in my ward, as they have a decent turnaround time when it comes to dealing with these issues.”
He highlighted that over 570 shacks have been reblocked in the Emandleni area and over 1 000 have been electrified.
“We are working on a project to continue electrifying these areas.”
Illegal dumping has been one of the major issues in the area, especially near informal settlements, flats and trading areas, as there is a large number of informal traders.
Loonat added the issue is residents do not have enough wheelie bins to place their waste in and use open fields as an alternative area to dump.
“By clearing up the pavements in public areas, I had hoped this would discourage residents from dumping, but I have come to realise we need a permanent solution.”
His main priorities for his ward since his appointment remains the same, which include:
• Fight the new rental policy in the rental stock of the municipality and replace it with a more economic rental.
• Redevelop the hostels into a more humane place to live.
• Clean-up of the entire ward needs to take place and educational programmes concerning illegal dumping need to be done. Necessary fines also need to be imposed by environmental health.
• Housing is an urgent need, especially for people living in flats for more than 30 years.
• Crime and drug abuse are serious problems. This needs a concerted effort by the relevant authorities as well as the community.
He explained he has built a good relationship with the residents in the area and not everyone would have good things to say, but he believes he has gone above the call of duty for the residents in the area he serves.
For all service delivery issues in Ward 29, residents can contact Loonat on 082 560 8293.
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