The Subcouncil 17 meeting on Monday 15 June opened with a moment of silence for Isaac Philip Hermanus, a ward committee member for Ward 75 who died last week.

Ward committee member remembered

Woodlands councillor Joan Woodman, who worked closely with Hermanus over the years, said her heart was “very heavy” at the news of his death on Friday, 5 June. She described him as “a thorn in my flesh” who called her every second day to check in, and said she would miss him greatly.

She told the meeting of a bitter irony: a speed hump in Selena Way, something Hermanus had long campaigned for, was put in place the Wednesday after he died, on 10 June. “He didn’t live if only to have the pleasure of seeing it implemented!”

Chair Elton Jansen appealed to councillors not to view difficult residents as problems, but as custodians. He mentioned a resident in his own ward who was as relentless as Hermanus.

“Look at the heart of that person. Just this morning I received a call from one of my thorns, to thank me for a reference I had given them, someone now employed at the Haven Night Shelter as shelter manager. And that warms my heart.”

Father’s Day: a call to be present

With Father’s Day approaching, Jansen also called on fathers to take up their role in the home and the community, in his chairman’s report.

“You can be in the house and be absent,” he said. “It’s important that we fathers take up our position and role in our communities, in our homes, because when one has a strong home, one has a strong community. And when one has a strong community one has a strong neighbourhood and that ripple effect carries on to a strong nation.”

Pensioners urged to reapply before July

The chairperson also called on pensioners and social grant recipients to reapply for relief before 1 July, when a new general valuation comes into effect.

Pensioners who applied three years ago need to renew their benefit status before the end of June, when their current status expires. Once renewed, the new status will be valid for another three years, a reprieve for seniors so that they do not need to reapply every year.

“The City is legally bound to check the financial status of beneficiaries to confirm that they meet the requirements for social package assistance,” Jansen said. He added that reapplying remained important even after the 1 July deadline.

Jansen said ward offices had become extremely busy, with residents queuing for help. He praised ward staff, including councillor Danny Christians, who he said had been working 12-hour days without overtime.

Dedicated city teams are in place to help with renewals and are proactively contacting registered pensioners and social grant recipients. Residents can email rates.rebate@capetown.gov.za, visit their nearest customer interaction centre, or go to their ward office.

The chairperson urged residents not to turn to social media for information, encouraging people to visit their councillor or nearest office directly.

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