The negative vibes related to the upcoming local elections, during canvassing, is of great concern, but worse is the social ills that prevail in Ward 20.
A sincere endeavour is thus being undertaken to address these ills, so why not join us.
Various forums have been formed, namely a sports forum, religious forum, youth forum, women’s forum, and the revival of the Community Policing Forum (CPF).
The sports forum includes seven codes, namely volleyball, netball, basketball, fishing, cricket, soccer and athletics. Taking cognizance of the expenses involved in organising sport in a sustainable manner, a meeting was held during which it was decided to raise funds to develop the respective codes. Each sporting code is to manage and control their respective activities, assisted by the sports forum. The fishing forum volunteered to host a tournament (awaiting the programme).
The soccer forum is to stage a seven-a-side tournament, with the Mathew Goniwe ANC Ward 20 Branch and the sports forum assisting. In this regard, nine meetings have been held with all stakeholders. It was resolved to unify soccer under the Acaciavale Football Committee to establish an association to begin a league. Under 13, under 15 and under 17 will be prioritised to attract our youth, with the seniors to organise themselves for SAFA competitions.
This coming weekend (September 18 and 19), the seven-a-side soccer tournament will be taking place at the Acaciavale Sports Ground. All divisions will be catered for: under 13, under 15, under 17 and seniors, with medals and soccer kits up for grabs for the winners.
As far as the women’s forum is concerned, the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) helped facilitate this forum. Vegetable seeds have been distributed to families in the Domba area so they can start gardening, culminating in the exchanging of vegetables for consumption. The Acaciavale school and clinic are to apportion areas for community gardening, with seeds being supplied to Lasec, Aloe Park and Acaciavale schools and the clinic for gardening purposes.
Religious forum: eight organisations attended the meeting, with three apologies received. Four fruit trees were given to five organisations. Each organisation is to draft a list of families in their respective congregations that may require assistance in the following ways: Covid-19 related; SASSA grant applications; matric students require IDs for their final exams; disabled persons require equipment and / or assistance with problems they face.
Youth forum: The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) facilitated this forum after lengthy and robust deliberation. The forum is to submit a programme and proposals for ratification and implementation. Two public meetings were held, where ward constituents were given an opportunity to elect their ANC councillor candidate and problems were discussed. I, Soojat Khan, was unanimously elected as the preferred ANC candidate.
Ward 20 has been characterised as five areas from Saffa Street (Aloe Park) to Fouriespruit; Acaciavale East (Smartiesville); Acaciavale West: RDP; and Domba.
The problems encountered are obviously not ‘one size fits all’ – they vary from area to area. Therefore, I recommend to have two ward committee members in each area elected by the people to represent the respective areas to identify, monitor and report these problems.
Please check your registration status on September 18 and 19. The IEC will be in both our voting districts.
God shall not change the condition of man if man does not want to change it himself.
I, Soojat Khan (ANC candidate for Ward 20), can be contacted on 0824978731 for more information.
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