Community organisations in the area served by the South Peninsula subcouncil, which includes Vrygrond, Lavender Hill and Strandfontein, are being called to stand up and give their input.
Speaking during the monthly subcouncil meeting, councillors raised concerns about dwindling attendance at the ward committee meetings.
According to the City of Cape Town’s website, ward committees are made up of ten representatives of various community organisations who meet with the ward councillor to discuss various issues.
There are various categories allowed and these include civic-based organisations, faith-based organisations, environment, education, youth and sports.
Speaking after the meeting, subcouncil chairperson Felicity Purchase explained many had resigned from the committees due to other obligations while others had just not attended meetings.
“What happened was, we are struggling to make quorum and we need more organisations to come forward. The ward committees are a platform for organisations and interested groups to raise their concerns and receive regular updates about things happening in their ward,” she said.
Purchase further explained the committee members were responsible for sharing information with their organisations to ensure everyone was kept up to date.
To be a part of the committee, organisations are required to register with the subcouncil.
According to the rules for the election and establishment of ward committees approved by council in September 2011, the ward councillor is the chairperson and determines the composition of the committee based on the list of registered organisations.
Councillors have to ensure that it fairly reflects ward demographics and the subcouncil has to endorse the ward councillor’s proposal.
Organisations also have to prove they are active in the particular ward by providing the minutes of an annual general meeting held within the last 18 months.
Purchase explains, depending on the interest from organisations, the composition can be adjusted.
“For instance we can have one more safety representative and take away a youth representative. Once we have assessed who is willing to participate we can find a way to accommodate them and it won’t necessarily be these two categories but will depend on the interest from the organisations,” she explains.
Political parties may not be elected onto the ward committee.
V
For more information visit www.capetown.gov.za. To register your organisation call Sandy Makhanyi on 021 784 2010
