MEET Charmaine Clayton, the newly-elected councillor of ward 31.
Charmaine grew up and currently lives in Sydenham, where she attended St Theresa Primary School and later went on to Little Flower High School. Her working career started when she joined an insurance company, before moving on to SAA where she worked for 12 years.
“I left SAA and decided to take a year’s break. I decided I didn’t want to be complacent, so I took on a six-month landscaping course under Lindsay Gray and in the process I did a little of this, and a little of that! I have one daughter, and have realised, after becoming a grandmother, that life begins at 50!” she said.
Charmaine said initially she was just an activist for the Democratic Alliance, and was chosen by the people in the community to serve as branch chairperson for the DA’s ward 31 branch.
She also serves as the ward committee member for Sports and Recreation on the ward committee and has worked hand in hand with former councillor Chris Pappas on a number of issues. She has also assisted with the installation of new pool equipment in the ward and has fought for fair treatment of ward 31 on the district sports council. She is one of the most active members and assists with clean ups and community events.
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“As a chairperson I learnt a lot through meetings, and for the past three years under Chris Pappas I have been taught the ropes. He went way beyond the call of duty for the ward. I have huge shoes to fill! I am proud to be the first female ward councillor in ward 31,” she said.
Charmaine said her goals once she is inaugurated officially will be to tackle gangsterism and drug and alcohol abuse in the ward, which are rife.
“I aim to try to get children and young adults involved in sport, as I believe if you are in sport, you stay out of court!” she said.
She hopes to host street meetings where she will meet and greet residents and will be working with women in the community and local old age homes.
She will also take part in street clean-ups, with the next event being in Berriedale Road on Saturday.
“On a personal note, I am passionate about animals and gardening, which is a great stress reliever. I also love working with the elderly,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of Charmaine, Chris Pappas said it had been wonderful to see her immerse herself in learning about how things in council work and how she had grown as a person since they first met.
“I have no doubt that Charmaine will hit the ground running and will always have the interests of the community at heart,” he said.
The community can contact her on ward31@ethekwini.org or 082 344 1722.
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