Constant attention and oversight are some of the requirements for running a successful ward and ensuring service delivery, said Ward 102 councillor David Potter recently when he thanked all the stakeholders that assisted him last year.
The stakeholders, he said, included residents’ associations, street committees, residents, ward committees, City of Joburg officials, Linden and Randburg police, the Randburg Central Improvement District, Randburg Sun and the Sandton Chronicle. He singled out the taking over of the city by the Democratic Alliance (DA) as a momentous occasion: “This was and is no easy achievement but a challenge that will exist for many months and years to come. As you may know, the DA was voted for by a majority of councillors to run a coalition government on 23 August 2016.”
The party had been in power for about 132 days, and residents would want to see changes: “Well, to put it bluntly, the DA has inherited a mess in terms of processes, wasteful expenditure, lack of service delivery and major corruption.
“[The] executive has had to deal with it. Further to this an ANC-aligned budget, [a] way of thinking and staff morale [have] also been inherited.”
Some change had been achieved, but it would take time to overhaul the entire system.
“The current council operates on an ANC-aligned budget until 1 July, with a minor adjustment budget allowed to be passed in a full council sitting by the end of February,” he said.
Although the ward had achieved a lot last year, there was still more to be done.
“I am acutely aware of some basic service delivery issues not being addressed adequately, such as grass cutting in parks and along main arterial roads, the reinstatement of tar, and tree pruning,” he said.
The new administration was still under the ANC-aligned budget period, and some officials were struggling to embrace the new administrative motto, “Service with Pride”.
“I would like to encourage every resident to continue to look [for] and log any issue they see, and if such issues are not resolved in a reasonable time, then escalate such to the relevant ward councillor in an appropriate manner,” he said.
Details: Ward 102 councillor David Potter, david@oursuburb.co.za or www.ward102.co.za
Potter ready to give residents a fair deal
The council operates on an ANC budget until 1 July, and a minor adjustment budget will be passed in a full council sitting by the end of February
