Ward councillor Amelia Bester shares a word

Ward 89 councillor Amelia Bester shared her thoughts with Northcliff Melville Times about the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa.

This is what she had to say:

I initially found myself highly frustrated with the slow uptake on the establishment of the protocol to address Covid-19. I’m relieved that much information has been communicated by all spheres of government in the past week. I’ve used my ‘ward-based updates’ WhatsApp broadcast groups and Facebook to distribute verified notices in this regard and ask that residents take time to peruse these documents.

We’ve been given the assurance of continued service delivery. The expectation is that response times might be slower but residents should still log queries with the City and its utilities.

I’m pleased that my request for the suspension of water and power disconnections as credit control measures were taken on board by the City’s executive. All disconnected services must be reconnected and no interest will be charged on arrears during this period.

We have tough economic times ahead of us. Where possible, we should extend a financial hand to help members of our families, friends and the community who will struggle.

Residents are advised to notify their ward councillor of desperate families and displaced people as we have access to aid within the region. Food parcels will be made available and shelters are being set up.

I plead with the community to be aware of domestic violence and abuse in their immediate surrounds and to notify the relevant authorities. It is unfortunate that we have rapists, paedophiles and violent people living among us.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me on my cell via e-mail, text message or WhatsApp. I have requested that testing centres be set up in each region for the

City of Johannesburg essential staff to be tested on an ongoing basis as we don’t want to spread the virus to our residents.

As long as we abide by the regulations in place, the lockdown will run smoothly. Transgressors will face the might of the law.

Please visit this website for more information.

Details: Amelia Bester: 072 472 4196; cllr.a.bester@gmail.com

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