Warm wishes from Steve Kotzé
WARD 86 – Councillor Steve Kotzé sends out his wishes to the community of Ward 86.
Steve Kotzé, Ward 86 Councillor, takes a look at what happened in 2015.
As the year rushes to a close, warm wishes are extended to pupils of all grades, especially Grade 12 pupils – may your results be satisfactory or better.
Reflection on noteworthy council service delivery is also in order. To this end, cycle lanes have been installed in Sophiatown, some roads have been re-tarred and limited small-bore water piping installed. While cross subsidisation with impoverished areas is understood as necessary and accepted as such, the residual budget that should be applied in this ward, is noticeably absent and seems to have given way to mayoral priorities elsewhere.
This ward covers 16 suburbs between Sophiatown and Maraisburg. Community needs vary between areas and council has had challenges in providing service delivery at times with sewage leaks, power and water outages, to name a few. I am however, hugely proud of the respective communities in this ward for their resilience and the way in which they have organised themselves as committees and groups that manage a variety of issues from the reporting of outages to the voluntary patrolling of our streets in collaboration with SAPS, to ensure the safety of other residents.
M&D Patrollers, FNQB Sector CPF, Newlands Community Patrollers, Sophiatown Neighbourhood Watch, the CPF Sector 3 Group, AARRO patrollers and UA Patrollers have organised themselves and have rendered patrolling services to local communities across the ward. SAPS also acknowledges the good work done by these voluntary groups that help keep crime down and generate a sense of safety in this ward.
The resident associations in Greymont and Sophiatown and the Friends of Albert’s Farm committee and Parkrun organisers are thanked for their tireless service to the community generally and ensuring that service delivery issues are logged and addressed or forwarded to me for escalation.
The spirit of volunteerism and willingness to get involved and contribute to the upliftment of the community in this ward, is second to none. I am privileged to have been able to serve residents in this ward.
I have requested extra police visibility over the holidays and recommend the services of approved / referred house sitters.
My wishes for all are to enjoy the festive season with family and friends, whether at home or away, and be safe at this special time.
Details: Ward 86 Councillor Steve Kotzé, stevek817@gmail.com or 083 654 6547.
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