Ward 88 councillor Wollaston Labuschagne was re-elected to serve the ward as councillor for another term.
Labuschagne shared his plans for the new term with HERAUT.
Q: As the re-elected ward councillor, what do you hope to achieve during your term?
A: One of the main functions of a local government ward councillor is to convey the requirements of residents to council in order for the respective municipal departments to budget accordingly.
The five priorities I will request the metro to budget for are as follows:
• Urgent maintenance and repairs to the Nigel Town Hall specifically to prevent further rain damage.
• Maintenance to the John Vorster Stadium and upgrades to the grandstand and change room facilities.
• The Nigel stormwater canal to be reconstructed.
• Unsurfaced roads to be tarred.
• The wetland in Alra Park to be rehabilitated and a public park developed across from the Alra Park Clinic.
Besides these five Integrated Development Planning (IDP) priorities, I will also request the SRAC and real estate departments to budget in order for the Nigel swimming pool to be completely revamped; however, all of these priorities are completely dependent on how well the metro’s finances are managed by whichever party is in control through a coalition agreement.
Q: What plans do you have overall for your ward?
A: Beside the mentioned infrastructure priorities, I would like to ensure service delivery in general improves, specifically from the parks and energy departments.
Public parks should be maintained on a regular basis and street lights should be working.
Q: When looking at your plans and promises when you were elected in the previous term, how much of your plans have materialised?
A: Keep in mind no local government councillor should make unobtainable promises to his or her constituents but rather make a concerted effort to play an oversight role in the municipality and represent residents in council.
Besides the hundreds of residents I’ve assisted with service delivery concerns and the Visagie Park water tower that was erected during the past five years, I also uncovered some shocking information.
For example, the total failure of the human settlements department to complete the Mackenzieville Extension Two RDP housing project, the total lack of maintenance at Nigel and Dunnottar municipal flats and all the mismanagement by a former official in the human settlements department and, of course, the two contractors that abandoned both the Almac water reservoir and Alra Park stadium projects after they were paid millions by the metro.
Q: Are there any issues that were not completed in the previous term? How do you plan to work on completing these?
A: As mentioned, the two major projects that were not completed in the previous term were the Almac water reservoir that were supposed to ensure improved water supply to Alra Park and Mackenzieville residents, as well as the Alra Park stadium. As soon as councillors are able to submit questions to the respective MMCs, I will find out what budgets are available to continue these projects and when new contractors will be appointed.
Q: How can residents get hold of you?
A: Residents are welcome to contact me on my cellphone on 082 413 4318, including WhatsApp. I also have service delivery WhatsApp groups on which I post regular service delivery updates and information. I would like to thank each voter who supported me during the past election and give them the assurance that I will do everything possible to ensure good service delivery by municipal departments and improved infrastructure development in Nigel.
A humble plea from my side to voters that supported minority parties is to monitor these individuals and encourage them to rather engage with myself as the ward councillor than to only criticise.
