#IMadeMyMark: what Kempton’s DA candidates have to say – Kempton Express

As part of its role to inform our readers, Express publicly invited the ward candidates in the relevant wards to answer one question: Which service delivery problem in your ward (area), which hinders the rebuilding of the wards local economy, will you address first and how?

DA candidates responded as follows:Ward 13 Ella Pieterse:

The ward has an unemployment rate of around 41%, higher than the national average. This highlights the seriousness of the need to build a sustainable local economy in the ward to begin to address the challenges of unemployment.

A major factor exacerbating and restricting local economic growth are frequent power outages. This is caused by cable theft, vandalism of electrical infrastructure and the general lack of maintenance of the electricity infrastructure.

Chloorkop Industrial area has been neglected by the current administration, while residents who are forced to work from home, due to Covid-19, have experienced challenges due to the regular power outages.

The inability to supply stable electricity to the ward is severely hampering the economic growth of the local economy. As the ward candidate, if elected, I will pressure the municipal council to invest in upgrading the failing energy infrastructure in the area and improve the security of the substations. We need the EMPD to act strongly on by-law enforcement and protect our infrastructure.

By guaranteeing reliable energy supply in Ward 13, we can attract businesses and investors to assist in stimulating local employment within Ward 13 and improve the overall quality of life, safety and security of all residents.

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Ward 15 Amanda Davison:

There are many small businesses and entrepreneurial residents in Ward 15. However, the current uncertainty surrounding City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) services be it water or power, refuse or sanitation, litter or lack of maintenance throughout the ward means the area is not attracting new investment, while businesses already established in the ward are struggling to keep their doors open.

Thus, urgent steps must be taken to stabilise services, but I cannot see that happening under the current chaotic, inefficient and unresponsive administration.

If elected as the ward candidate, I will focus on the rezoning of areas for the possible development of small business nodes.

Small businesses need to be re-identified and allowed to relocate to these possible rezoned business nodes to assist in formalising a business sector.

Another economic opportunity, which will assist in building the local economy, is formalising the informal recycling sector. This crucial service, provided by waste pickers, assists in keeping tons of recyclable waste out of our landfill sites. We need to assist in building a green economy. If elected, I will force the city to formalise, train and register waste pickers and ensure city assistance to allow informal recyclers to contribute meaningfully to Ward 15.

Ward 16 Jaco Terblanche:

One of the biggest service delivery problems in Ward 16 has been CoEs inability to provide services to the community. The dire economic situation in the ward is characterised by high unemployment and a lack of opportunity, exacerbated by the pandemic, has seen a proliferation of homeless people seeking shelter in the Kempton Park inner-city, while systemic socio-economic issues have led to this unfortunate situation.

The result means people are living in increasingly unhygienic conditions due to a lack of provisions for adequate sanitation. Other socio-economic conditions have also emerged, such as an increase in crime and drug abuse.

As the ward councillor, I intend to put pressure on the metro to urgently provide the necessary provisions for these desperate people in accordance with their human rights. In addition, I will engage with other stakeholders, such as NGOs and faith-based organisations, in the area to provide shelters and feeding centres for the homeless and try to assist with skills development.

While it is a desperately unfortunate situation, the adverse effects of service delivery failure have added to the economic decline of Kempton Park. As a councillor, my priority is to urgently address this issue to revive the wards local economy.

Ward 17 Simon Lapping:

As the DA ward candidate for Ward 17, it is crucial we focus on revitalising the CBD to stimulate the local economy. There are no public toilet facilities available in the inner CBD and our streets are littered with trash, while the increase in crime has deterred investors and hampered economic growth.

To tackle this and revitalise the CBD, I will force the city to increase visible enforcement officers and by-law enforcement. This will help to instil investor confidence in the CBD once again. Furthermore, I will fight to keep the streets and inner-city clean by requesting a night cleaning team to ensure the city is maintained and clean. Security camera instalment at crime hot spots will improve community safety in the area.

By getting the basics right, small business owners and investors will be enticed back into our CBD.

We also need to secure our electricity grid and provide businesses with reliable water. This will allow businesses to operate at their optimum and in turn increase revenue generated, which will flow back into the local economy.

Ward 23 Andre du Plessis:

Due to the collapse of sewer infrastructures in Bonaero Park, resulting in weekly sewer overflows into private properties, as well as ecologically sensitive wetlands, residents have moved out of the area and settled elsewhere.

Compounding this is the continual electrical and water interruptions. Businesses are hesitant to invest in this area, thus a great loss in job opportunities has begun to affect residents.

The existing commercial areas have deteriorating roads and stormwater infrastructure, causing established businesses to move out of the area, exacerbating job losses and unemployment within Ward 23.

If in governance, I will ensure the collapsed infrastructure services are prioritised by ensuring budget allocation. This will assist in stabilising the ward to prevent further collapse but also enhance immediate, short-, medium- and long-term infrastructure upgrades and maintenance to attract investment and create job opportunities for the community.

Adequate attention will be given to working with other spheres of government to protect and preserve the sensitive ecological habitats within the area, to ensure Green Lungs are protected and preserved for future generations. This can assist to build the green economy in Ward 23.

Ward 25 Pieter Henning:

Ward 25 has experienced severe power outages in recent years. This has severely hampered the growth and recovery of the local economy within the area.

Electricity is a basic service that industry needs to survive and thrive. Unfortunately, the rampant power outages have drastically affected businesses that have also struggled during the pandemic.

If elected as the ward councillor, I will engage with the relevant stakeholders and the municipality to ensure a sustainable and reliable electricity feed to the area. This will be fundamental in steadying the industrial businesses in the ward.

We need to assist the survival and growth of industries wherever possible.

In the IDP, I will also place the electrical infrastructures upgrades (as well as water, sanitation and road infrastructures) as a critical priority. By ensuring this gets done, it will encourage business confidence back into the area, which will help to create direct employment in the area.

In addition, by ensuring service delivery and getting back to basics, we will be able to grow the local economy.

Ward 91 Desmond McKenzie:

Ward 91 is home to close to 25 000 people.

One pressing concern raised by many in the community is the challenge of establishing a small or medium business in the ward. The pandemic has also had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of many residents, and they have had to reinvent their businesses, while those wanting to start a business continue to experience red tape and the lack of municipal support.

To rebuild the wards local economy, I will initiate small business exhibitions. This is an initiative I originally launched in 2018 and 2019, which aimed to mobilise and assist with public and private educational awareness and foster networking in the area.

Furthermore, I will advocate for the relaxing of red tape restrictions in establishing a business and ensure municipal support to SMMEs. This can be achieved by engagements with the metros Business Centre Support Office.

It is also crucial to facilitate a working relationship between the informal sector and the business community. We need bold thinking and to get things done to rebuild our local economy. As the ward candidate, I will continue to use every avenue available to me to get our wards economy functioning again.

Ward 104 Tracey Lourenco:

Ward 104 has several challenging issues; however, the one service delivery issue most damaging to the local economy has been the regular power outages caused by a lack of maintenance to electricity infrastructure. Regular bouts of load-shedding exacerbate the problem.

Ward 104 is primarily residential, comprising suburban areas and small businesses. The pandemic has necessitated the need for many residents to work remotely and are, therefore, reliant on a consistent electricity supply for online access. In addition, the impact of the pandemic on the economy has meant that small businesses in the area are under enormous financial pressure, and any downtime related to power supply has the potential to be devastating. CoEs inability to supply stable electricity to the ward is thereby severely hampering the economic growth of the local economy.

As the ward candidate and community representative, I plan to continue to apply pressure on the municipal council to invest in upgrading the failing energy infrastructure in the area as a matter of urgency.

A stable electricity supply will go a long way in kickstarting the local economy after more than a year of subdued growth associated with the lockdowns associated with Covid-19. This will be my number one priority in ensuring residents do not suffer as a result of poor infrastructure maintenance.

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#IMadeMyMark: what Kempton's DA candidates have to say - Kempton Express