The newly elected Ward 93 councillor, in Khayelitsha, Thando Pimpi, has promised to work with community stakeholders to improve service delivery in the area and tackle crime head-on.
During the by-election on Wednesday November 15, Mr Pimpi from the ANC won 69% of the votes, defeating the EFF and DA.
This comes after the previous ward councillor, Ntombebala Mquqwana, had been forced to resign by the residents and ANC amid claims that she had not been elected appropriately.
The area had been plagued by violent protests over the last couple of months after Ms Mquqwana had refused to step down.
However, Mr Pimpi has made it clear that he intends to work tirelessly to stabilise the area and unite the residents of Ward 93 and work toward the common goal of improving the area.
The 45-year-old father of one highlighted youth unemployment, youth gangsterism, lack of youth facilities and service delivery as some of the key pressing issues facing his ward.
He firmly believes that the residents need to put aside their political ideologies, affiliations and work together for change.
He emphasised that he was not a ward councillor for individuals or certain people, but represented the needs of all the people in Ward 93.
He told Vukani he aimed to establish street committees and strengthen the work of the community police forum to clamp down on crime.
He also hopes to implement youth programmes and activities to keep them occupied and away from crime.
He said there were two unused sports field in the area which were in a bad condition and he wanted the City to maintain them and ensure that they were usable.
He said residents living in the informal settlements of K- and Green Point section had been living in the area for years and had been promised houses. These promises, however, had not been fulfilled, he said.
Mr Pimpi added that he intends keeping the City and all relevant departments on their toes to ensure that they deliver on their promises.
While there was a lack of vacant land in the ward, which contributed to there being few youth facilities, he hoped the City would find an open space to allocate for this purpose.
He said he was concerned that young people in the ward spent most of their time at taverns because they had no extra-mural activities.
He applauded the work done by members of Khayelitsha Community Police Forum and leaders of Site B who patrol the community at night, ensuring that residents were safe in their homes.
Mr Pimpi said he wanted residents to be involved in community activities and take part in community meetings.
He said while he understood that people would have different views of how things should be done, he urged people not to sabotage developments if they disagreed with how things were done.
He called on the residents to work hand in hand with him and committed his tenure as ward councillor to uniting the community.
“I’ve dedicated myself to working with the entire community.
“I will have regular meetings with street committees of different areas to give feedback.
“It’s not about who voted or who did not vote for me; it’s about ensuring that the basic needs of our people were being attended to.
“I promise to put the interests of my people first,” he said.
