Empowering the residents of Ward 103
SANDTON – Newly appointed Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackelford hopes to improve the communication in her ward.
Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackelford looks forward to not only address the problems within her ward but also empower the residents with improved communication.
Shackelford, who has held the position as ward councillor for just under three months now, previously served on the ward committee under former councillor Vincent Earp.
Ward 103 includes parts of Bryanston East, Benmore, Morningside, Parkmore, Riverclub, Sandown and Sandton CBD.
According to the long-time Sandton resident, it just made sense for her to take this next step and take on the opportunity of ward councillor.
“Community has always been first for me, I have always believed that. My parents moved to the area in 1974, I was two years old, and I grew up in the ward so I know it well,” she said.
Almost three months into the job, the ward councillor has faced her fair share of challenges, which included dozens of pipe bursts and power outages due to the ward’s ever-ageing infrastructure.
This is why, over the next five years, Shackelford hopes to empower the residents with improved access to information.
“I think we don’t give the residents enough credit to do what they need to do but it is very difficult for them to find the information that they need to do it. So in order to log a problem, who do you log it with?
“I value the fact that I know who to call, what to do and I think that the residents are open to that as well. It is going to take time but so far the city officials have been open to that.”
She added that there were also a lot of younger people moving to the ward, those that were renting for the first time and/or moving out for the first time.
“I think that because they are now paying rates and taxes, they want to understand now how it actually works and I want to empower them.”
As Shackelford finds her way into the ward, she looks forward to strengthening the bridge between the residents and the City.
Residents living in Ward 103 are encouraged to contact ward councillor Lynda Shackelford on 082 994 2067, email jhbward103@gmail.com or @LyndaShacks on Twitter with any issues or concerns.
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