This week’s question was:
What is the function of a residents association in relation to the City of Joburg and ward councillors?
Philip Kruger, Ward 86 councillor, answered:
Residents associations (RAs) perform very important functions in the City of Johannesburg. A regularly constituted RA can assist residents as well as councillors and officials with the execution of their duties.
RAs are organisations formed by a group of people from a specific geographic community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for their local community. RAs use various platforms of communication to communicate with various stakeholders. They may have a Facebook page or group, Twitter handle, and one or more WhatsApp groups. These channels are used to communicate news and points of interest to the residents, and to receive complaints and concerns, which are then communicated to the City and to the ward councillor.
RAs act as a link between residents and the City, be it officials or ward councillors. This will make communications between entities and the residents easier and will improve service delivery. As they function as the eyes and ears in the suburb, they can report and address service delivery issues very effectively. Many ward councillors also communicate directly with RAs, who, in turn, can disseminate the information quickly to residents.
Due to pooled human resources, RAs can be very beneficial when petitioning the City for speed calming, for example. It may be very daunting for an individual to go through the whole process of applying for speed calming, but with the backing of the RA, it is a much lighter task.
There are also safety and security benefits of having an RA in your community. They work very closely with security firms, patrollers and Community Policing Forums, allowing them to communicate any security issues quickly and effectively to the relevant authorities.
RAs are a vital link in the City between residents, officials and councillors, and I encourage communities to support their RAs by becoming involved, participating, and where no RAs exist, to consider forming one.
Do you have a question for a ward councillor?
As a local newspaper, the Randburg Sun provides a platform for residents to learn about, understand and follow local government. As an extension of that, there is a weekly column called Councillor’s Corner which is a platform for you, our readers, to voice your concerns or questions for ward councillors to respond to.
Different, willing, ward councillors will respond to a question each week.
Email your burning question to:aimeed@caxton.co.za and let’s get the ball rolling.
