“Remain firm, act in a neutral manner and be open to the diverse community of Goodwood.”
This was the advice Faizel Petersen, former chair of the Goodwood Residents and Ratepayers’ Association (GRRA), gave his successor, Mogammad Noordien, on Wednesday 2 March, when he handed over the baton after serving as chair for four years.
“I joined the GRRA in 2017; they only had 35 members and was an exclusive group of residents, which lacked diversity and the majority were senior citizens.
“Issues raised at meetings were not the pressing matters we dealt with on the ground, and feedback was only provided at the following meeting, as the structure had no digital footprint.
“I wanted to bring change and therefore when I was nominated as chair in 2018, I took up the challenge,” he says.
Today the GRRA has 381 registered member, have a Facebook following of 4 827 and have approximately nine WhatsApp groups.
The groups consist of general information to load shedding and recycling – only to name a few.
“We have a widely diverse membership from all religious and racial backgrounds. The flow of information is instant and constant, so that our members are always informed about matters that impact them.
“I cut through the ‘red tape’ of escalating only to ward councillors, and I directed pressing matters directly to heads of the various service departments of the City of Cape Town, and in that way our issues were promptly addressed,” he says.
The biggest challenges the new committee will be facing will be getting the full support of the ward councillors, as well as an active and participating community.
“The ward councillors saw our exco’s (executive committee’s) approach of questioning them on processes, policies, ward budget allocations and their lack of accountability towards questions from our members, as an attack on them.
