Her determination to be the voice of the people in her community and to improve service delivery has seen Ward Councillor, Lorraine Maree, forming her own footpath in her ward by working towards dealing with various issues in the greater St Francis Bay and Paradise Beach areas.
Maree, who is no stranger to working in a team to ensure the community’s needs are met, previously served as a committee member on the St Francis Bay Community Policing Forum, the Sea Vista Clinic, the St Francis Cycle Club and St Francis Paddling Club.
With regular mentorship from Alderman Ben Rheeder, who was the previous Ward 12 councillor, she said she was able to gain the necessary knowledge and support to join the local municipality.
“I joined the municipality as a councillor because I love this community and would like to contribute to society. I also want to be the voice of the people in my community to improve service delivery,” said Maree.
Some of the challenges faced by the ward she oversees include ageing infrastructure, roads in need of resealing, lack of residential waterborne sewerage and a causeway access road to Paradise Beach which often floods.
As a member of the mayoral committee and serving on the infrastructure and engineering committee, Maree said they were currently working on various projects for the entire Kouga region which included water security as a top priority.
Furthermore, she said, when the new budget year starts, they will continue with the resealing of the roads, and they are in the process of getting Cape St Francis blue flag status ready, part of which will include wheelchair-friendly access to the beach.
Maree said her plans also included keeping her ward free from crime so that every resident feels safe to enjoy the lovely beaches and nature trails.
She said since becoming a councillor she has a better understanding of how the municipality operates.
“When I see how little budget the municipality departments received over the years, I am honoured to work with dedicated employees that create miracles to serve the community,” said Maree.
She said the support from the community has been amazing and the encouragements outweighed the negative comments.
“My hope is to be part of the team that takes Kouga Municipality from the best municipality in the Eastern Cape to the best in South Africa,” said Maree.
