Ward 10 councillor, Jacoline Visser
Community newspapers can play a positive role in the community through making them aware of issues and by encouraging them to take part in positive activities and taking responsibility for their own well-being and pride in their community.
My vision is to create a more cohesive and safe community through the establishment of street committees and reinstating neighbourhood watches, in order to have a responsible, actively involved community and to take Ravensmead back to where it was before crime started to rule their lives. Crime and illegal dumping are currently two of the priority issues in the ward.
Ward 1 councillor, Cheryl Visser
Community newspapers have a very important role to play in communities and are of huge value to councillors.
They are locally-orientated and focus on specific suburbs and neighbourhoods.
Things that affect residents’ quality of living directly, that larger news media do not cover, are covered by local newspapers.
It can be used to reach a specific community and share important information affecting the residents. It can also be used to build a positive profile of a councillor and contribute to a solution-driven outlook.
My immediate main aspirations is to get public participation and involvement. My vision for Ward 1 is community involvement and service delivery improvement. I foresee Ward 1 remaining an excellent ward to live in and that we should continue and improve and prosper in everything we have on offer economically, socially and environmentally. I hope that service delivery will become exceptional and that everyone will be involved and take pride in our community. Safety and security are very important and I’d like to see that security systems are interconnected with other wards and the City. Also that the public transport system extends and grows in Ward 1. Together with residents, myself, City officials and staff can help further build an inclusive, integrated and vibrant Ward 1. Some of the main issues that have come to my attention in Ward 1’s councillor, are safety and security, service delivery and traffic calming.
Ward 2 councillor, Leonore van Walt
Community newspapers are one of the most important ways to liaise with residents. If a community newspaper is free, it is obviously accessible to all.
My experience is that a community newspaper such as the Northern News is read by those who receive the newspaper because it contains local news not found in the dailies.
Ward 2, with more than 24 000 residents, experiences urbanisation due to large portions of the ward being in close proximity to the main access route, Voortrekker Road.
Controlled development to provide more jobs and accommodation on this route will be beneficial to all but this needs extensive investment in the area. That is why the VRCID, which fights crime and grime diligently, is so important.
A very positive development in different sectors of Ward 2 is the establishment of neigbourhood watches. These residents who voluntarily give up their time to patrol their areas and keep fellow residents updated on different WhatsApp groups do a sterling job.
It is remarkable how observant these volunteers have become and an observant resident is an asset to any area.