The Voice of the Community, a forum of community and religious leaders from across the province, was launched following a meeting with mayoral committee member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross at a Lavender Hill church last month.
The forum will meet regularly with the authorities and help to find solutions to a range of problems facing communities across the city, said Parkwood community leader Pastor Paul Phillips, who arranged the meeting.
Mr Phillips said: “Issues on the table included government accountability; service delivery at grassroots level in the city; assistance and lack thereof for the religious sector; and community-based organisations’ challenges such as finances, resources, capacity building as well as requests for facilities, land and premises to operate from.”
Ms Van der Ross said: “The way forward is to rebuild the network of care and focus on how we can serve the community of Cape Town by making sure there is a continued partnership between the City and the NGOs.”