BULWER Community Safety Forum's monthly meeting was one of sad farewells and welcomes on Tuesday night.
At the meeting, Heather Rorick, chairperson, welcomed the newly elected ward councillor, Mmabatho Tembe and wished her all the best for her work in the community for the next five years.
Speaking at the meeting, Mmabatho thanked the voters for their faith in her, and gave residents some insight into her background. Mmabatho is qualified with a Bachelors in Social Science and is currently studying psychology at UKZN. She is also a volunteer trauma counsellor at Bellair SAPS.
“I love ward 33, and I live in St Johns Avenue, Glenwood. I have worked closely with Nicole Graham and have spoken to Warwick Chapman a lot over the past few months. I can't promise I will be a Nicole or a Warwick, I can only promise to be a me, and I'm pretty awesome. I have a soft heart but I can be tough!” she said.
She said she knew over the next five years there would be a lot of questions from the community and a lot to deal with, but said she could do more if the community worked together with her.
“I'm not Superwoman, but I can work with the community to try solve things together with them,” she said.
Ben Madokwe, current secretary of the ward 33 committee, said now that a new councillor had been elected, the ward committee would need to be re-elected.
“The ward committee is made up of 10 people living in ward 33, who are activists to help in the ward in terms of development. A new committee must be elected within three months of a new councillor being voted in,” he said.
At the meeting, Rorick bid a sad farewell to Captain Glenn Needle who has been asked to retire from the police reservists.
“We have worked with Glenn for a number of years and this is a sad time. The SAPS has asked him to step down as the new age for retirement is now 60. We managed to keep him on a further two years by writing letters to the police, and I still can't understand why they would be willing to lose such a hard working man who has volunteered his time for the past 30 years. I feel this is something that needs to be looked into,” she said.
She thanked Glenn for his service and for putting his life on the line for his community.
Glenn said during his time in the force, many people complain about crime, and he always asked them what they were doing about it.
“This was my way to help as part of the community. I want to thank the community for being the eyes and ears for the police. It was such a pleasure to work with everyone and I hope I can still help in whatever way I can. It's a sad day to say goodbye, but I thank you for your support,” he said.
Rorick said crime was on the increase, especially in Helen Joseph Road and said there was an increase in fence hoppers and vagrants in the area.
Capt Motsamai Dingaan from Metro Police said many vagrants had been displaced to the area and people needed to report sightings of these men to ensure they don't find a comfort zone within the community.
