Feisty, opinionated and strong-willed – these are just some of the words used to describe Ward 110 councillor Shanen Rossouw.
Her voice can often be heard at sub-council meetings, fervently asking about service delivery, policies and red tape but now Ms Rossouw is on the other side of the table, as she has been selected to serve as sub-council chairperson for Sub-council 18, following in the steps of Monty Oliver.
“It is quite daunting because now I’m in charge of six wards. One ward is already a lot of work, now there are five more, but I can honestly say that the team in the sub-council that I will be working with are hard-working, passionate people and all the councillors drive important issues like service delivery.”
With the new position comes a lot more power and influence. Asked what she will be focusing on in her new role, Ms Rossouw, who lives in Steenberg, said service delivery will always be her first priority. “Our core function is service delivery. We are concentrating on the issues in the communities.
“Safety in communities is also a major concern, and then the other main priority is housing for our people. There are plenty of open pieces of land in the sub-council, and we are currently in the process of trying to get some of this land rezoned for housing purposes,” said Ms Rossouw.
“Problem houses in our rental stock are also on my list of things to work on. Those are just some of the issues,” said Ms Rossouw.
She said there are many processes and a lot of red tape within the City of Cape Town but she is confident that with with the help of the community, things will get done.
“If residents work together with us and come to us with their problems, we will go out of our way to assist in whichever way we can. I have an open door policy and so do the other councillors. All we ask is the community and organisations’ input to be able to do great things and bring about positive change in our communities,” said Ms Rossouw.
“Work with the sub-council and the ward councillors. Make use of us because we are here to serve you,” said Ms Rossouw.
The councillor thanked her two children for supporting her through her journey as a councillor. “My family and friends have been through a lot, but I thank them for their support and I hope the next five years will be fruitful and that we as a sub-council can provide the services that our people deserve,”she said.
