Vorna Valley opens dialogue
VORNA VALLEY - “We do need a sense of humour doing what we do,” said Sue Klingenberg, chairperson of the Vorna Valley Residents' Association.
With that, she humorously opened the association’s AGM on 6 August at the Swiss Club in Midrand.
On the night, issues such as potholes, wetlands, and the continuous lawlessness of motorists in Vorna Valley were addressed. However, the highlight of the evening, besides the address by Ward 112 councillor Candice James, was the launch of the suburb’s official website.
“We are an apolitical, volunteer organisation. We have a collective passion to see our suburb looking clean, well maintained and inviting to investors. Apart from that we’d really like to live in an area where children are able to walk on the side of the road without being taken out by cars,” said Klingenberg.
The website links the social media communities that already exist with aggrieved individuals, and ensuring that due process is followed.
“Facebook and Twitter are for informal discussions, they challenge views and opinions whereas the website intends to make people sign up to become members and they can then log issues. We will be able to track how long it takes for an issue to be resolved and they can vote for an issue,” said Indran Govender, the website designer.
James’ talk focused on community participation. “I have been trying to get to know as many people as possible. Having to talk to an association makes my life a lot easier.”
She also stressed the importance of people knowing the due processes and the turn-around times of the different departments before giving up on an issue. “You’ve got to get involved in the process. Without taxis our lives would be very different. They haven’t got adequate facilities,” she said, citing a few incidents where there were no inlets for taxis to stop.
Klingenberg agreed with her and said, “We are busy working on this. We understand that taxi ranks are an integral part of our lives. What we are trying to do is to get sponsorship for decent facilities.”
During the question and answer sessions, Community Policing Forum chairperson, Billy Rudlin said there were plans to start a forum for domestic workers. “I would have liked to have spoken about the policing issues in the area. All the domestic workers are coming together on 10 August at 2pm at Anton Hartman Park. We’ll be meeting with them in order to improve their own safety,” he said.
Midrand Police Station commander Colonel Steven Moodley said, ”Property-related crimes such as housebreak-ins need to be addressed. The most important thing is to communicate with each other, and the community needs to act as our eyes and ears.”
