2013 will be written in history will go down in the annals as the year in which one of the world’s largest icons, Nelson Mandela died and in years to come most of us will be able to remember clearly 5 December and the following 10 days of mourning.
After all is said and done, the best way in which to honour his name is to carry his ideals further in our everyday life, to cherish our democracy, to participate in the 2014 elections and to vote for the party that you believe would serve your interest best and above all to honour and respect your fellowmen.
Very few other things stand out for the residents of Johannesburg. The residents of ward 98 and especially in Windsor will remember the 2013 as the year in which the SAPS came to Windsor in full force, albeit only for a month. During the month of June the residents experienced the peace and quiet that that should be part of their everyday life. The abrupt withdrawal of SAPS and the resurgence of crime and related emphasised the contrast between a well and badly policed suburb.
Residents in Randpark Ridge ext. 1, 3, 16, & 41 will remember 2013 as the year in which street lights came to their suburb. I had requested these lights as far back as 2002 and every year since in my annual budget requests: the wheels of Council turn, but very slowly indeed.
Since I became a the ward 98 Councillor in 2000 fighting drugs in Windsor and agitating for street lights in Randpark Ridge had been very high on my agenda. Ironically due to the injuries I sustained during an accident on New Year’s Day 2013, I was still on sick leave when action was taken on both these issues.
Power outages remained a problem throughout the year and continue to do so. My colleagues in Region B and I have taken this very unacceptable problem to the highest level and have been assured that it is receiving attention. While I appreciate their concern and speedy response to any outages, many years of infrastructure neglect have to be rectified before an uninterrupted power supply can be ensured.
Residents going away over this festive period must please put emergency measures in place should a prolonged outage occur.
I wish to thank all the residents for all the support I received during the year and the patience with my absence. I am very pleased to be working again and to be of service to you.
Once again I would like to thank all my DA colleagues, members of my Ward Committee and chairpersons of the ratepayers’ associations who kept Ward 98 ticking while I was on sick leave.
I wish all the residents a wonderful and blessed festive period and may 2014 be a particular good year for all.
Kind regards!
Laurette van Zijl
Ward Councillor 98
Leave
Please note that I shall be on leave from 17 December until 8 January 2014.
In case of service delivery problems please report them to the relevant department by using the numbers as on my Group Spaces Website http ://groupspaces . com/JhbWard98/
Cllr Graham de Kock can be reached on 0833671816 in cases of real emergencies.