Housing, better education, cleaner streets, more frequent garbage collection – these are just some of the issues candidates are campaigning on in wards 23, 55 and 107, ahead of the municipal poll on Monday November 1.
Thirty-one candidates are contesting Ward 23, which covers Melkbosstrand, Big Bay, Blaauwbergstrand, Blouberg Sands, Sunningdale, Blouberg Rise, and parts of West Beach, Bloubergrant and Table View.
In 2016, the DA took the ward in a landslide with 95% of votes, followed by the ACDP with 2% and the ANC with 1%.
The DA’s Ward 23 councillor, Nora Grose, will be stepping down, and DA candidate Paul Swart, of Table View, will be contesting the ward. He is a former member of parliament and is the chairperson of the DA’s rules and ethics committee. He says he looks forward to assisting the homeless people in the ward.
Mr Swart says he also wants to work closely with the City’s Law Enforcement so that it is visible on the ward’s beaches during the upcoming festive season.
“I do not want to make promises to the community, but I am ready to tackle all challenges in the ward and assist with projects that have already been happening,” he says.
Bronson du Preez, who represents the ACDP, says the 2.3% his party won in the ward in the previous election has “given him a little hope”.
Mr Du Preez, has lived in Table View since childhood and attended Table View primary and high schools. He says his parents were “pioneers in the community”, and he would like to leave the same legacy.
He opposes same-sex marriages, abortion and forced vaccinations and wants people to vote for “Godly governance”.
“We are not here to shake hands with the devil, instead we want freedom of religion.”
Mr Du Preez is an amputee and has 5% vision in his left eye but regards himself as having a “different ability” instead of seeing himself as disabled.
He says he is partly funding his campaign with his state disability grant.
“What you put in is what you get out,” he says.
Tabletalk tried contacting Ward 23’s ANC candidate, Hendrick Sackson, since Thursday October 21, but he told us he would not be able to comment because he was “busy working in a factory”.
Ward 107, which includes Parklands, Sunningdale and Table View, including Blaauwberg Road and Raats Drive, is contested by 28 candidates.
The DA’s Nicky Rheeder won the ward with 88% of the vote in 2016, followed by the EFF with 4.6% and the ANC with 3%.
Ms Rheeder is seeking re-election and says plans for the next five years will be discussed with the incoming ward committee, which might then survey the boarder community to gauge people’s expectations.
She says she had a hand in banning fireworks on all beaches in her ward and fought for a separate budget for the beachfront.
“After a long battle, the mayor, Dan Plato, came and heard our plea, and we were give an amount of R75 million to be used over a number of years to assist with the beachfront projects.”
Further changes planned include a 4-metre-wide walkway at the beach and moving the parking area closer to the beachfront to ensure safety of walkers, runners and cyclists.
She says she has seen to improvements in parks and will continue to push for the homeless to be accommodated in shelters.
EFF candidate Ayanda Mali, of Parklands, says he wants to see more schools and a library in the area.
Municipal bills are crippling residents, whether they are rich or poor, he says.
On almost every corner, there are developments and big blocks of flats going up in Parklands and they are infringing on residents’ rights, he says.
A councillor should be transparent about ward allocations and ask residents about what the needs are in the community.
Good party candidate Ashley Poole, from Atlantis, says he often travels through the areas in the ward and is saddened by the number of homeless people there.
Everyone should be treated equally, with humanity and dignity, he says and adds that he also wants to help informal traders in the area.
He says he will include all people in decision making and strive to create opportunities for all, whether they are rich or poor.
Thirty-two candidates are contesting Ward 55 which covers Sanddrift,Tygerhof, Rugby, Ysterplaat, Brooklyn, Lagoon Beach, Marconi Beam, Century City, Paarden Eiland, Milnerton and Sunset Links Estate.
In the 2016, the DA won there with 91%, followed by the ACDP with 2.3% and the ANC with 1.1%.
The DA councillor Fabian Ah-Sing is seeking re-election and points to including drum majorettes at Ysterplaat Primary School and Buren High School (“Buren High School welcomes drummies,” Tabletalk, June 23) and fixing Brooklyn’s Albow Gardens council flats as some of his achievements.
He is now working on creating an outdoor gym park along the open walking spaces near Woodbridge Island, he says.
Mr Ah-Sing says he will be working in the Brooklyn area next as it needs a lot of attention.
“I look forward to… introducing new projects to the ward.”
A Rugby resident, Igsaan Hugo, is running as an ANC candidate because of unemployment and the lack of community projects in the ward, he says.
He says he wants to create unity between the haves and the have nots.
The DA has failed Ward 55 as the area hasn’t seen any positive changes for the past five years, he says.
“The current councillor for this area does not even live here, he is not impacted by poor service delivery and increase of crime in the area.”
Mr Hugo says he wants to make the area better for the youth, improve safety and security and promote local businesses to create more jobs.
Dirty streets and parks are on the top of his priority list and he will push for garbage trucks to visit Brooklyn, Ysterplaat and Rugby more than once a week, he says.
“There are more people living in one house in areas like Rugby compared to Milnerton, so the dirt bins will fill up faster,” he says.