Eddie Andrews, the councillor for Ward 78 and mayoral committee member for Area South, outlined the City of Cape Town’s plan to ensure equal opportunities and service delivery to the residents across the metro.
Speaking at Sub-council 12’s inaugural meeting at the Lentegeur council chambers on Wednesday February 15, Mr Andrews said the council was working towards being “customer-centric”.
Mr Andrews is one of four newly appointed shadow mayors, with him being responsible for six sub-councils which include areas such as Mitchell’s Plain, Constantia, Muizenberg, Philippi, Noordhoek, Cape Point, Retreat, Newlands and Rondebosch.
Ward committees in the sub-councils can liaise with Mr Andrews to have service issues resolved speedily, should the ward councillor be unable to help.
He is busy visiting the sub-councils and meeting ward committees to have oversight on the Mayoral Urban Regeneration Programme (MURP), which the Town Centre is a part of; encourage public participation; manage ward programmes, customer relations, sub-council duties and look for informal trading local tourism opportunities.
Similarly he is responsible for keeping the mayor and the council informed about what is happening in Mitchell’s Plain and its sub-council.
Ward committees can make recommendations on any matter affecting the ward so that councillors can make recommendations to sub-council.
Ward member and committee tasks include acting as an advisory to the ward councillor; as a resource through which the structures of the council may consult and canvas community opinions on any matter; giving input on any matter affecting the ward; assisting sub-council in understanding and identifying the needs of the community; assisting the council in formulating budget proposals relevant to the ward; monitoring and reporting on service delivery in the ward; acting as a structured channel of communication between the sub-council and the community; assisting the council in the performance of its public participation mandate in the IDP, municipal by-laws, budget, policy formulation and performance management systems; and to encourage and enable the community to become actively involved in governance issues of the council as they pertain to the ward.
Alesia Bosman, manager for Sub-council 12, encouraged ward committee members to ask for help at their offices, but to do so timeously.