Mark Kleinschmidt, Ward 60 councillor
Firstly, a huge thank you to all Cape Town residents for your collective support, assistance and exemplary citizenry during our #KeepCapeTownClean campaign led by mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Going the extra mile by some communities was greatly appreciated.
A special mention must be made of the sterling services rendered unselfishly by our neighbourhood watches. These ordinary men and women patrol their suburbs during the wee hours providing the eyes and ears in crime prevention, in conjunction with SAPS. With the spike in crime exacerbated by load shedding, our neighbourhood watch members continue to conduct patrols, and much success has been obtained.
Neighbourhood watch patrollers Zuhair and Celeste Moosa of the Nerissa Neighbourhood Watch in Lansdowne must be applauded for their meritorious awards received from the City’s safety and security directorate for their selfless efforts.
We are grateful that the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, but the new challenge of load shedding will further damage our ailing economy. The City must be applauded for mitigating the scourge of load shedding whenever possible. The threat of Stage 8 – a complete blackout by Eskom looms before us! Heaven forbid.
On the bright side, the Western Cape government reports a 3.2% decrease in unemployment, reporting that 203 000 new jobs were created during 2022.
As a ward councillor, I am grateful to the community-based organisations for their invitations to their various meetings and events. They enable me to have an ear to the ground. The invitations have included my attendance of preschool graduations and sport-and-civic meetings, including the market-day events for small-business entrepreneurs and sports clubs.
The annual ward allocation funding includes support for licence plate recognition cameras in hot spots, youth capacity-building programmes and the launch of the third edition of the Women for Change programme. The roll-out of the Expanded Public Works Programme has ensured temporary work so that these workers may place food on the table.
Thank you to the Ward 60 committee for its ongoing support and assistance. Thankfully the mowing tender contract has been resolved and the contractor can cut the overgrown-grass areas.
May I take this opportunity to wish all residents a blessed and safe festive season.