Maureen Schneemann to make a difference

Ward 114 councillor Maureen Schneemann is “desperate to make a difference” in the community. Schneemann spends much of her time battling against some of the most challenging difficulties in Zandspruit, an informal settlement with 25 000 families living in tough conditions.

“As a councillor for [Zandspruit], they look at you as their mother,” she says. “I [deal with] everything; parents, children, drugs, schools. family disputes, the clinic, the taxi rank, crechés…” But the greatest challenges in Zandspruit, according to Schneemann, are its population growth; “tremendous poverty” and lack of jobs; crime; stolen electricity and drugs.

To help alleviate poverty, non-governmental organisations are donating food, there is a soup kitchen, and residents have been encouraged to farm for themselves.

Schneemann adds that construction for a municipal clinic in Zandspruit will probably start this year, and the City of Johannesburg and Eskom are working on bringing electricity to the 25 000 shacks in Zandspruit.

Why is Schneemann the Ward councillor for such a demanding area? “I love the people and am desperate to make a difference,” she says.

Schneemann invites residents to contact her by sending an SMS on her or email.

She is responsible for parts of Northgate, North Riding Estates and Ext 1, Northwold Ext 11 and 43, parts of Randpark Ridge, Sundowner and Zandspruit.

Details: Ward 114 councillor Maureen Schneemann maureensch@telkomsa.net, 083 297 1128.