Ward 115 councillor hopeful of new year goals
FOURWAYS – An improvement in the rate of unemployment, electricity issues and many other service delivery problems in Ward 115 are on the agenda for councillor Mark van der Merwe in the new year.
Newly elected councillor of Ward 115 sends his festive greetings to the community.
In light of the New Year, Mark van der Merwe said there are some goals in the various suburbs that are to be achieved. Some major problems he mentioned include electricity, unemployment and potholes.
“We are having issues mainly in Jukskei Park, Joburg North and Bloubosrand with cable theft and illegal connections into Kya Sands from Bloubosrand. I’m also working with other councillors and the entities to see how we can do that. Last year, we lost 14 mini-substations in Ward 101/115/134 (old 96). And when that happens, it’s a three-day affair with no electricity.
“We have massive unemployment in Kya Sand and local companies are hiring from other areas. I’ve already spoken to The Small Business Initiative of the South African Chamber of Commerce to see how we can upskill unemployed workers to match the minimum requirements of local companies.”
Last year, he had escalated over 750 issues, with 200 being reported by him. He wants to continue being in touch with residents on the issues in order to have matters addressed faster.
“I ran a poll a few months ago and got feedback from residents and I will run it every six months or so to keep up to date with residents’ issues, needs and wants.
“I also commit to feedback on a regular basis in person or via Zoom depending on Covid levels.”
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