ABERDEEN NEWS - Last year brought many frustrations for Aberdeen ward 7’s councillor Rudy Jacobs, but he is optimistic that 2020 will see some positive changes.

Despite the challenges, one area where Jacobs feels he has been able to make a positive difference for some of the residents is in getting them access to electricity. “I consider electricity to be a basic human right, and am proud that I have been able to assist these families in their quests to access this right,” said Jacobs.

He also worked hard last year to improve communication channels between residents and the municipality, and was able to relay information regarding water problems, for example.

Jacobs would like to see this improved communications taken even further during 2020, to ensure that members of the community receive prompt and timeous information about forthcoming events and possible problems.

 “We need to keep pushing for better service delivery across the board,” he added. He would also like to see more cooperation between local businesses, community members and the municipality, to work hand in hand to improve conditions in the town.

Amongst the frustrations of last year, the lack of response from the municipality to many of the motions he has tried to bring before council probably rates the highest. Problems with illegal dumping, and the lack of facilities for the town’s tourism office are both areas where he has been trying to make progress since 2017, without success. 

Two other serious concerns are the failure of the municipality to provide the promised R100 000 per ward for improvement projects, despite plans being submitted, and the persistent unwillingness of officials to attend ward 7 community meetings in Aberdeen to answer directly to the community.

One of his goals for this year is to push for the privatisation of municipal facilities that the municipality is unable to maintain, such as the caravan park, the bowls club and the Fonteinbos nature reserve.

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