South Africa is a diverse nation thriving in an abundance of cultures, races, and ethnic groups. Our communities are a reflection of this abundance, and our very own Ward 43 is no exception. How does a community with so many differences function efficiently as one? What does it actually take to run a ward with so many differences successfully?
Residents of Dawn Park and Ward 43 were given an opportunity to explore these questions at a public meeting held at Impact Church on 24 October.
Hosted by Councillor Lana and the ward committee, the meeting provided an opportunity for them to reflect on their work over the past five and a half years, discuss community challenges and engage with residents as their term draws to a close.
Ward committee members addressed residents on their respective areas of responsibility, with discussions covering illegal dumping, community safety, social support and alleged interference in local projects. The meeting also saw the endorsement of ANC Ward 43 candidate Lucas Nku, while tensions emerged during the question and answer session when a disagreement disrupted proceedings.
Achievements And Challenges
The outgoing councillor began by reflecting on some of the highlights of her term. One achievement she mentioned was the establishment of soup kitchens in Windmill Park. She also spoke about the social work and community upliftment initiatives carried out across the ward.
Although not all ward committee members were present at the meeting, those who attended each had an opportunity to address the community and reflect on their work.
Nathaniel Philani, whose portfolio covers environmental issues, appealed to residents to stop illegal dumping. “Illegal dumping is not right,” he said.
Addressing Dawn Park residents, Nathaniel pointed out that they were fortunate to live near a waste disposal site where they could dispose of their waste free of charge. Despite this, he said, illegal dumping continued in public spaces. “You find people dumping all over the place,” he said.
From the Department of Community Safety, Johannes Ndaba spoke about challenges involving groups he described as a “construction mafia”. He alleged that these groups had attempted to hijack projects in Ward 43.
“We had a challenge of, I’ll call it a construction mafia, where they tried to hijack some of the projects,” he said. “What we did in my portfolio was that we addressed that and we reported that. The MMC from Zizwe is aware of it.”
Johannes said such groups should not be allowed to enter Ward 43 and interfere with projects taking place in the community. He also raised concerns about interference from councillors representing other wards.
“We had interference from other wards, councillors especially from other wards. Sending people in our wards saying they must go and work there,” he said.
He urged whoever takes over his responsibilities to stand firm when dealing with similar challenges.
“Whoever is gonna come in after me, I’ll please ask him, put your foot down and be firm,” he implored.
Councillor Lana supported Johannes’ account, confirming that she had reported alleged interference by fellow councillors to the Speaker’s office.
“That is very true about councillors interfering. I’ve reported to the Speaker about fellow councillors that interfered with projects in our ward… We did our own investigation, and we found that to be true. And that is against the policy,” stated the councillor.
Wilma, whose portfolio covers health and social development, spoke about her involvement in community work before joining the ward committee. She said she became interested in social work after moving to Windmill Park, where she began helping residents in need.
“I cared a lot about the community, and even sometimes I take out of my own pocket or out of my own cupboard, and I make a plan for people to eat,” she said.
Wilma said that since Councillor Lana took office, the ward had hosted several events where food and clothing were distributed to children. She also recalled attending meetings in an effort to secure a clinic for Windmill Park, although the campaign did not result in a clinic being established.
Describing the demands of her work, she said she often responded to emergencies involving residents.
“I stand up at night when people are getting babies, when people are getting stabbed, when people are getting shot,” she said. “I do service delivery for Councillor Lana. I did a lot in my portfolio, and I didn’t care about the money; I cared about my people.”
She urged whichever political party takes over the ward after the elections to continue serving residents with dignity and compassion.
“Whoever party will come into Ward 43… serve your people with dignity, serve your people with love,” implored Wilma.
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Division Within The Ward
Another challenge raised by Councillor Lana was the emergence of what she described as “parallel service delivery groups”. According to her, these groups were established by aspiring political candidates rather than through authorised structures.
“What we saw two years ago is that our groups were infiltrated. We had parallel service delivery groups from aspirant candidates,” she said.
The groups, said the Councillor, were documented and reported because, in her view, sitting councillors were not permitted to operate alongside unauthorised parallel service delivery structures.
“As a sitting councillor, you cannot have parallel service delivery groups. Those individuals are not councillors; they want to be councillors,” she claimed.
She explained that the groups caused confusion among residents, with some people approaching her about problems they believed they had already reported to the councillor, even though she had not received their complaints.
“That caused a lot of problems in our ward. That caused division in our once beautiful ward,” she explained.
Question Period And Political Tensions
Although the outgoing councillor described the meeting as a non-political occasion, Dawn Park’s own ANC Ward 43 candidate Lucas Nku was given an opportunity to address the gathering after Councillor Lana and the ward committee endorsed him, with the councillor telling him, “Take it forward, you’ve got our backing.”
Ward committee members also shared words of encouragement with Lucas. Johannes urged him to maintain the standard set by the outgoing committee.
“The bar is very high. Don’t drop it,” he said. “Take Ward 43 forward to a higher bar. I believe you can do it.”
Nancy, whose portfolio covers disability and older persons, also offered her blessing to the candidate.
“God wants me to tell you, we’re going out, you’re coming in, I bless you,” she said.
Lucas briefly addressed the gathering, highlighting the diversity of Ward 43 and the importance of bringing its residents together.
“Our Ward 43 is very diverse. We’ve got Xhosa people, Zulu, Sotho, Venda, Tsonga, all of us are here,” he said. “In Freeway Park, Sunward Park, we’ve got the Afrikaners, we’ve got the English, we’ve also got the Coloured people. Ours is to unite”
However, Lucas’s endorsement was not the only political matter to emerge during the meeting. Tensions arose during the question and answer session when a resident, who described herself as “currently assisting in the ward to help the DA”, stood up to address the gathering.
Those present called on her to ask her question, but instead of raising a question, she began expressing her views on political matters. Some attendees interrupted her when they realised she was not asking a question. The situation escalated as the resident insisted on keeping the microphone and continuing to speak.
“Lana says there should be accountability. I will show Councillor Lana!” she shouted as she was escorted out of the hall.
Although the resident’s intentions were unclear, the confrontation caused a commotion and disrupted the meeting’s proceedings.
Following the incident, an elderly resident appealed to those present to exercise tolerance and allow people to express themselves, even when others disagreed with their views.
“Please guys, let us have tolerance. If a person speaks and you don’t like what he says, that doesn’t mean you have to shut that person down,” the resident said.
A Farewell After Five And A Half Years Of Service
According to Councillor Lana, she and the ward committee have served the Ward 43 community for five and a half years. She described the committee as a diverse group whose members came from different political parties. However, she said that whenever they met as a team, they put their political differences and disagreements aside.
“In all my years and the ward committee’s years, we never ever fought once,” she said. “We started with a prayer, and we finished with a prayer, for all these years. And that is the core of this community, is God. Respect for one another, whether you are blue, red, yellow, green, white, we’re human beings.”
The outgoing councillor also encouraged residents to vote according to their conscience in the upcoming elections and to pray for a leader with Godly qualities.
“We need to pray in a Godly leadership. Because ultimately that individual’s characteristics is going to determine how they are treating you as a resident,” she advised.
Although she will no longer serve as Ward 43 councillor, Lana said she does not intend to stop working in the community. She explained that her role would change, but her involvement in community initiatives would continue.
“I won’t be your councillor anymore, but I will be there helping on GBV, community programmes, loving people, caring for people, feeding people like we’ve done for five and a half years. We’re not gonna stop but my role has changed,” she said.
Once again, Lana emphasised the importance of prayer in bringing Ward 43 community together.
“43 is a beautiful Ward. Everyone wants it. Why? Because we’re a praying ward. When we started five and a half years ago, we started with a prayer… Let this ward never stop praying, because that’s the glue that’s keeping you as a community together, regardless of your beliefs… your colour, and your religion and your political party,” she said.
The meeting concluded with a prayer, bringing the gathering to an end in the same way it had begun.
