Incumbent Ward 70 councillor, Caleb Finn, Democratic Alliance candidate

Incumbent Ward 70 councillor, Caleb Finn, answers a few questions.

Q. What do you feel you have accomplished in your time in office?
A. During the past five years working with the amazing community of Ward 70 we have achieved the following, amongst other things:
– Fleurhof Substation at 70% completion
– Repair of the Fleurhof Community Hall
– Establishment of the Florida Displaced Persons Shelter
– Opening of Fleurhof Drive linking Meadowlands to Florida
– Upgrade of the Florida Lake Park
– Development of the Cabbage Street Park, Fleurhof Ext 5
– Construction of more than 2000 RDP housing units
– Construction of the Florida Clinic
– Water pipe replacement in old Fleurhof
– Resurfacing of multiple roads including but not limited to: sections of Ontdekkers Road, sections of Main Reef Road, Bona Vista Drive, Tonnel Avenue, Dartmoor Road, Westlake Road, Goldman Street
– Installation of traffic calming measures on several roads including but not limited to: Winze Drive, Camelthorn Street, Minerva Avenue, William Nicol Drive
– Refurbishment of multiple parks in the ward
– Upgrading of multiple intersections

Items already budgeted for in this financial year and coming financial years:
– Upgrade of the Cecil Payne Stadium
– Florida North Water Tower upgrade
– Continued upgrading of the Florida Lake Park
– Construction of the Robertville Water Tower to provide sufficient water for the Fleurhof area
– Extension and upgrading of Spencer Road

Q. Outside of your council duties, how are you involved in the community?
A. I serve as a voluntary board member at two local non-governmental organisations.

Q. What past experiences make you uniquely qualified for this role?
A. During the years before I entered politics I juggled my work and voluntary roles. My background is in education where I worked at a university teaching Development Studies. I also served in voluntary community roles including as the Chairperson of Florida Blockwatch, Chairperson of Florida CPF, Founding Committee Member of Our Neighbourhood – Florida and as a board member at Dorcas Aid South Africa. These voluntary roles provided me with great insight into the challenges facing the ward, and combined with my background in Development Studies it really got me thinking about what could be done to improve the situation. I realised that I needed to step up and take action; this desire to bring change became my inspiration to be a councillor.

Q. What is your vision for your ward?
A. My vision is that all communities within Ward 70 must have a clean and safe environment, for services to be delivered efficiently and municipal infrastructure to be well maintained. The combination of the above creates an enabling environment to revive our business communities to create a wealth of employment opportunities. This can be summed up as: Ward 70 will be clean, safe, functional and economically active.

Q. How do you feel this vision can be achieved?
A. The ward is diverse and large in size; this can be seen as a strength that counts in our favour. There are several processes and programmes that have to be implemented to achieve this vision, amongst others these will be prioritised:
– The upgrade of the Florida CBD to revive local businesses as well as the opening of the Informal Trading Facility at Florida taxi rank to decongest informal trading sites in and around the CBD.
– The creation of a dedicated inter-disciplinary team of council officials and external stakeholders to deal with the urban decay. This should be combined with community oversight and involvement in this team.
– Ensuring that land owners, the Departments of Minerals & Resources, Home Affairs, Justice and law-enforcement agencies are held accountable for the worsening illegal mining crisis in parts of the ward. This should be implemented through a public forum where residents can hold them accountable on a regular basis.
– The funding and implementation of the council-approved Fleurhof Urban Development Framework to complete the missing puzzle pieces within the Fleurhof community, and ensure that the quality of life is improved for all residents. This includes the completion of several major infrastructure projects such as the electrical substation, the construction of the Robertville water tower, construction of the road bridge on Malicite Street, and the completion of the Fleurhof Drive / Westlake Road intersection amongst others.
– Vastly improved maintenance of municipal infrastructure in the industrial areas within the ward, namely Robertville, Lea Glen and Stormill. This is key to attracting investment and ensuring that jobs are created.

Q. How does your party mirror your personal beliefs?
A. The Democratic Alliance is a party for all South Africans irrespective of their race, religion, sexuality or any other personal belief. We are the only political party that can unite all South Africans to find unity in our diversity. This mirrors my personal beliefs in building a united South Africa.

Q. Tell the residents of your ward why they should vote for you.
A. Vote for me to ensure that we continue making progress in the ward so that we achieve our vision of a Ward 70 that is clean, safe, functional and economically active.