’People continue to suffer’ – independent candidate

Lyndelwa Mguli is running as an independent candidate in the upcoming elections.

Lyndelwa Mguli, 31, of Dunoon, is running as an independent candidate for Ward 104 in this year’s municipal elections.

The ANC’s Lubabalo Makeleni won the ward, which covers Dunoon, the Stable and Rivergate, in 2016 with 72% of the votes.

Ms Mguli believes it is time for residents to do things for themselves. They hold the power to decide what they want for their community, she says.

All citizens need to be involved in their community’s development, and a ward councillor must be transparent and show no favouritism in creating job opportunities, she says.

“The poor are not getting any adequate services. People continue to suffer. Councillors should be held accountable when they fail to deliver.”

She says she wants to tackle unemployment and basic needs such as housing and services, work with the police and activists to stamp out crime and gender violence, and encourage entrepreneurship.

She gets no funding for her campaign and pays for her own posters that she hangs up around her community, she says, adding that she uses social media to gather support.

Ms Mguli is a mother of a 12-year-old boy. She works full-time as a pharmacist assistant. She holds a degree in public administration and an Honours in political studies from the University of the Western Cape.

Even if she doesn’t win, she will continue to serve the community and she hopes to start a non-profit organisation to do so, she says.