By-elections: DA reclaims Ward 23

The DA’s Gerald Goslin has emerged as the winner in the Ward 23 by-elections held on October 25, retaining the ward for his political party

Ward 23, which covers Atlasville, Bonaero Park, Pomona commercial area, Goedeburg, Brentwood Park, Northvilla and the northern section of Northmead, was without a councillor for a few months after Alderman Andre du Plessis resigned due to health problems.

Three parties registered their candidate to contest the by-election.
Goslin won the ward with 3 168 votes, beating the ANC’s Roslynn Alexander (83 votes – 2.53%) and the EFF’s Mmapule Aphane (23 votes – 0.7%).
Goslin will be sworn in as a councillor at the Germiston Council Chamber during the ordinary council meeting today (October 26).

The delighted Goslin described the outcome as a very good result for the DA.
However, considering the 15 338 total of registered voters, the voter turnout was fairly low.

Residents hope for change
Residents who spoke to Boksburg Advertiser as the elections were underway at the Atlasville Tennis Club polling station yesterday (October 25) said they expect change amid what they described as dwindling service delivery and a spike in infrastructure vandalism.

They echoed their frustration about the key concerns and said they hope that whoever wins will address things like unplanned power outages, potholes, dysfunctional streetlights, and erratic rubbish collections.
Gavin Hewitt, of Atlasville, who had just cast his ballot, said: “I am expecting change, and I’m hoping the new councillor will keep an eye on things that affect us, which include faulty streetlights, potholes and poor workmanship when officials do repairs to the infrastructure.”

Atlasville’s Angie Charles said she voted against corruption “because if they can get rid of all the corruption, their problems will be fixed. They must get all our concerns back on the IDP because our area has been neglected for years.”
She said the new councillor needs to see to it that their swimming pool and roads are maintained and that the taxi rank is moved to a bigger space, enough to accommodate the volume of mini-bus taxis and have proper ablution facilities.

Catherine Higgins, also of Atlasville, said: “I want the new councillor to prioritise our roads, electricity and streetlights.”
Voter Henry Higgins said: “All I want to see is improved service delivery and the general upkeep of the ward because we are paying for it. My key concern is the electricity outages that have nothing to do with load-shedding, but are caused by substations that constantly blow up.”

Atlasville’s Gops Pillay said he voted because he believes it is his civic duty. “I think potholes and garbage collection need to take priority.”

Also Read: Ward 23 by-elections: residents hope for change as voting continues