Demarcation board proposal: Sunningdale excluded from uMhlanga’s Ward 35
The demarcation board will publish its final decision in June.
SUNNINGDALE, Glenashley and Glenhills (from the action cricket arena) are set to fall under new wards, should a proposal by the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) be voted into a legislature. By next year’s municipal elections the number of wards is also set to change, increasing from 103 to 110. According to uMhlanga councillor (Ward 35), Heinz de Boer, the reason for the change is the increasing number of registered voters.
The MDB, responsible for the determination of municipal boundaries, calculates the number of wards by dividing the number of councillors for the municipality by two. A norm for the number of registered voters per ward is then calculated by dividing the number of registered voters in the municipality by the number of wards. The legislation allows for a deviation of 15 per cent above or below the norm.
These numbers are then used during the spatial configuration of ward boundaries to ensure that each ward in a municipality has more or less the same number of registered voters.
“Because the number of registered voters and the size of Ward 35, the proposal would mean that Sunningdale and Glenhills (from the action cricket arena) would then move into a new ward, being 110, which includes Mt Moriah, Glenashley, which currently falls under ward 36, under Shaun Ryley, will be moved into my ward. This will come into effect as it is required by law to change the ward structure.
“We have drawn up alternative proposals to those put forward by the MDB, but the reality is the ward boundaries have to change. The most important thing is for residents to vote where they are registered ahead of next year’s municipal elections.
“Several residents from Sunningdale are unhappy about the proposal, and I urge them to get involved in the objection process once it reaches the legislation process. At the moment it is a proposal and is subject to change; however, those three areas will fall under different wards,” he said.
De Boer added the process would be a tricky one and that he hoped that the board gets the decision right.
The demarcation board will publish its final decision in June on the re-determination of municipal boundaries in terms of Section 21.
