Ward 41 community leaders converged at Ikhaya Loxolo Old Aged Home on Saturday 15 January to forge a good working relationship in the ward.
The meeting was chaired by the current ward councillor Lindile Sonyoka.
Among others, the meeting encouraged unity and transparency in the ward.
Stokes Minya, NY 12 community leader, described the meeting as effective and promising. He said their objective is to propose the new guidelines to be followed by the leadership, especially in Ward 41.
“To be able to achieve our goals we need each unit or section of the ward to be active and united. The councillors must understand that they are liaison persons between the community and the City. We need the information to flow so that everyone can access it. The councillor must understand that he is not leading individuals but the whole ward,” said Minya.
He urged all the leaders to throw behind everything that happened prior to the November local government elections.
Minya praised the idea of a special meeting, saying it was the first time something like that happened in the ward.
Sonwabo Ndabambi, Khikhi Sanco secretary, said members of the organisation are ready to work with the new councillor. He described the meeting as a great initiative. He reiterated Minya’s sentiments for a united ward. “We want all the structures to be united in the ward. We want to see development in our area,” said Ndabambi.
He cited unemployment and poor infrastructure as the main challenges facing the ward.
Sonyoka described the meeting as a platform for the leaders to raise their concerns and possible solutions.
“We agreed to work together as leaders regardless of which political organisation the leader is affiliated to. Also, we agreed that we want transparency and accountability from the committee members who are in charge of all the projects within the ward,” said Sonyoka.
He said they are planning to engage other leaders from the surrounding communities in order to improve Gugulethu. “We are not doing this for Ward 41only but for Gugulethu as a whole. We are planning to approach other councillors from other wards in Gugulethu and have a discussion on how to improve facilities in our wards,” said Sonyoko.