Get to know the ANC’s candidate councillor in Ward 114

David Tebogo Mangena is the candidate councillor for the ANC in Ward 114. The 36-year-old from Zandspruit informal settlement answered questions about the upcoming elections.

What will you do differently than the previous councillor?

Firstly we need to re-arrange Zandspruit on almost everything. I will start by calling community meetings section by section for communities to elect leaders that I will work with. Revive all community structures like sports forums, pastors forums, senior citizens, liquor board, CPF, employment desk, education desk etc. I will introduce the Zandspruit Community Trust which will take care of the community’s economic sector which will assist children to study, fund small businesses, assist when someone passes away and they were part of a burial society, and rebuild the houses of senior citizens etc.

We’ll have community offices in every section that will assist with community issues and the office will have a phone, Wi-Fi and printing machine, and provide proof of residence.

I will go back to the previous Councillor Maureen Schneemann to ask about where she knocked and what was the response, or what are the promises; I will go to Councillor Victor Mafinya and do the same, so that when I start I know where to begin. I can write a book of what I can do but these are priorities.

Outside of council duties, how are you involved in the community?

I have been running my NPO since 2015 which is Zandspruit Youth Development Forum. Its main focus is to develop young people in terms of job preparation sessions, learnerships, internships, job placement, skills development, empowering events and all school-related matters.

However, because my office is only one of its kind in Zandspruit, we end up helping them with proof of residences as well. We have social workers every day and we have adopted the community because we work as information and referrals. We have a community WhatsApp group that has all leaders, community members and ward governance. We even have a Facebook page where we share information.

What past experiences make you uniquely qualified for this role?

I worked as ward governance from 2011 until 2016. I understand how government operates. In my NPO I work with government departments and I have already made relationships with them. I’m currently chairing the stakeholders’ forum where we have different government entities. We always invite government when we need clarification on whatever we encounter. I’m a man of action, I always mediate when there is a challenge in the community. When coronavirus started I was the one who went out to look for help so that our people could get food parcels. My profile of working within the community speaks volumes.

What is your vision for the ward?

I believe before you develop the community you need to develop the people. My vision is to see people of Zandspruit love each other, work together and have Ubuntu towards each other so that we can tackle service delivery together. Obviously in the end I want to see Zandspruit developed and people living in houses, not shacks. I want to see more recreational areas, community halls, skills development places and lastly good, permanent jobs.

How do you feel this vision can be achieved?

It is easy to achieve this vision because we will have structures to support the vision, pastors on board to lead us in prayer, and the old people to guide us when we lose it. As long as we are together nothing is impossible.

How does your party mirror your personal beliefs?

We are guided by the Constitution. We run like government with different spheres of the organisation. I aligned my beliefs with my Constitution so that we don’t have problems when it comes to servicing our people. My party and my personal beliefs are like a hand and a glove. The ANC’s mission is to fight inequality, poverty, and is a non-sexist and prosperous movement which is what I believe in. You can check my work ethics on assisting the poor of the poorest.

Why should residents in your ward vote for you?

The journey we walked together – fighting service delivery, employment information and having elected leaders have come to an end now because you have one of your own. All the projects they keep telling you about are coming with an ANC-led government.

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