‘A councillor is employed by the people’

The fight for Ward 64, which includes Clovelly, Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay, Lakeside, Marina da Gama, Muizenberg and St James, in the upcoming municipal elections on Wednesday August 3, does not have a solitary approach.

Crime and a long-standing problem with homelessness are two factors which do cross over and are acknowledged by all candidates, but each party approach by way of solution, is different.

Earlier this month we spoke to Aimee Khul, the DA’s candidate for the Ward 64 election, with David D’Alton not running for re-election this year (“Dave D’Alton steps down from Ward 64”, False Bay Echo, July 7), about her approach to helping the homeless and boosting civic mindedness in the area’s youth.

This week we feature ANC candidate and Marina da Gama resident Lorraine Moko and the EFF’s Isaac Goliat who lives in Capricorn Park.

Mr Goliat, 39, is a cabinet-maker by profession, a boxing tutor and a musician. This is the first time he is running for ward councillor in a municipal election.

“When you are a candidate, you are voted (for) by the people, so people need to give you a mandate, and you need be accountable.

“As a councillor you are employed by the people, you need to change their lives.

“In Ward 64 I will make sure that CPF is active and funded. I want to ensure police visibility, and I want corrupt police to be removed.

“I will promote sports and music between Wards 69 (Masiphumelele) and Ward 67 (Vrygrond, Seawinds) so that youth can know each other, as you will never be robbed by someone you know.”

He said his three years in the community have impressed upon him the necessity to speak up.

He described Ward 64 as looking nice from the outside – but said when you took a closer look, there were sex workers, street people and rising crime rates.

One of his ideas is to strike a deal with taxi organisations to transport homeless people back to their original home communities.

“Others need to be accommodated and there is land – from Vrygrond to the sea – which could be used.”

Mr Goliat said the EFF would provide free education if voted into power, by using the money that he felt was being squandered by the current government.

His party’s approach to homelessness includes appropriating land owned by foreigners who live abroad. He has been quoted as saying that this land would be taken over by the government and put to good use – although there are no details as yet as to what exactly that means, and that the homeless would be accommodated on vacant land in Ward 64.

Paragraph 32 of the EFF Founding Manifesto says: “Economic Freedom Fighters will contest political power, because we are guided by the firm belief that we need political power in order to capture the state and then transform the economy for the emancipation of black South Africans, especially Africans.

“The forms in which the EFF contests political power will, from time to time, be reviewed in the light of prevailing circumstances, but the primary role of mass organisation and activism, as a means to raise the political consciousness of the people, will remain the bedrock of our political practice”.

Ms Moko has been a social worker since 2005, with her fields of experience including children, youth, families, groups and community work.

She believes her research on homelessness and vagrancy during this time makes her uniquely equipped to deal with these issues in Ward 64.

Her other skills include child welfare law, work as a community liaison officer, social work management and social welfare law, among other related things.

She lists nine points of importance for her as an ANC ward candidate: democratically functioning ward committees; tackling unemployment; a focus on education and skills training; community safety and security; supporting the Kalk bay fishing community; promoting “green” issues in the ward; health matters, with an emphasis on upgrading the clinic in Muizenberg; housing and human settlements; and safety on Metrorail trains.

“I will prioritise campaigning on issues of education that are of importance to the parents and children in the ward.

“On skills development for the unemployed youth, access will be facilitated for the use of the National Skills Fund and SETA funding to offer further training programs to unemployed youth in the Ward. The three False Bay College campuses in Fish Hoek, Muizenberg and Westlake will be the focus for expanding evening classes and learnership programmes to accommodate existing educational demands of the community,” she said.

Of the fishing community, she noted: “We stand in full support of the struggle of the Kalk Bay Fishing Community around a just and equitable allocation and quota that will ensure the economic sustainability of the Kalk Bay fishing community both now and in the future. We will continue to push for the fast tracking of the implementation of the new policy on small scale fisheries and the economic benefits that must come out of this progress.”

Furthermore, said Ms Moko,“The Clinic in Muizenberg must, as a matter of urgency, be refurbished,” Ms Moko said. “As part of the Government’s job creation programme, this clinic must be properly resourced with additional qualified staff – and the necessary and enhanced facilities for False Bay Hospital will be lobbied for.”

The ANC will be holding a public meeting for all residents of Muizenberg, Lakeside andMarina Da Gama with the ANC Candidate for Ward 64 on Sunday July 24, at the Muizenberg Bowling Club, Main Road, Muizenberg from 3pm to 5pm.

For details you can call Lorraine Moko on 083 686 9756.

Voting stations for Ward 64 will be at:

Muizenberg High School

Zandvlei Sports Field (tent)

Kalk Bay Community Centre

Fish Hoek Civic Centre

Fish Hoek Primary School

False Bay College Fish Hoek

Muizenberg civic centre