The first official Sub-council 18 meeting was held at the Buck Road offices last week and although there are some new faces on the panel, most are already well known in the wards.
Sub-council 18 consists of six wards that cover areas that run from Wynberg through to Lavender Hill.
Each sub-council in Cape Town has a monthly meeting to discuss matters in each ward, to make sure that residents’ municipal issues are heard and dealt with and that issues requiring attention are highlighted and followed up on.
Sub-councils have the power to act on behalf of council, have the authority to make decisions on a range of municipal matters and these meetings are open to the public.
Each sub-council has a sub-council chairperson and a sub-council manager, who chairs the meetings along with ward councillors, municipal officials and Public Representation (PR) councillors who go through an agenda of matters receiving attention, ward allocations, ward issues and other pressing affairs.
Sub-council 18’s meeting, which was held on Wednesday February 16, included the inauguration of a new chairperson Kevin Southgate, new ward 65 councillor Donavan Nelson and new PR councillors Grant Haskin, Achmad Hendricks, Malcolm Jacobs, Nadia Satarien Penelopy East, Frances Lombard, Patrick Chapple and Shireen August.
PR councillors are elected by the number of votes his or her political party received in the election, which was held last November.
Mr Southgate, who came from Sub-council 20, said voters expressed themselves at the polls last year and the results were reflected in the chamber rooms of Sub-council 18.
He said it had been a hard-fought battle as everyone campaigned and made promises to the community that they would do something to improve their lives.
“Our focus now for the next five years should be on service delivery and how we can give expression to the promises we made to improve the quality of life of the communities that we serve.”
He encouraged the ward and PR councillors to work together for the common good of the communities and said by doing so they could achieve more.
Mr Southgate added that as the new elected chair of the sub-council his focus would be on building trust, restoring hope, civic pride and confidence.
“We want them to know that we are committed to serving them and will begin by promoting accountability and ensuring effective and efficient services are delivered to all of our respective communities.”
He acknowledged the important role former chairs, including Monty Oliver who died in April last year and Shanen Rossouw who chaired up until last year, had played in building the sub-council’s communities.
“The success of a sub-council is built on dedication and hard work. This often depends on the partnerships between ourselves as councillors, officials and the communities that we serve. These partnerships are built on mutual respect and trust and they help us to achieve those promises that we made to our communities at election time,” he said.
Shireen August from the GOOD party said she had a responsibility to her constituents who voted for her, would concentrate on the efficiency in and service delivery to the wards she serves and would hold councillors accountable.
Ms Satarien from the Cape Coloured Congress said one of her main priorities would be safety and security. “That is one of the many illnesses in our communities but I am open and excited to learn about what the council will put in place in order to make the changes to make our people’s lives better.”
Mr Jacobs from the Africa Restoration Alliance (ARA) party said their plan was to work with the ward councillors. “We will hold them accountable but also to protect the identity of the ward councillor because when constituencies can’t get it right they run to the other, which brings division and actually delays service delivery.”
He added that they needed to forget about politics, stop fighting, put their differences aside and work together to make things work and for the good of the people.
In conclusion, Mr Southgate said he was looking forward to working with all the councillors. ”We will make this term a great success where the winners will be our communities.”