Rocco de Villiers

ROCCO DE VILLIERS – ALL ABOUT THE PIANO
Don’t miss this year’s Ward 57 annual fundraiser which sees the return of the popular pianist Rocco de Villiers to the Theatre on the Bay on Thursday 3rd December @8 pm. Rocco’s latest instrumental show, has as its star of the night – the piano – at centre stage.

ALL ABOUT THE PIANO pays tribute to the most popular instrument of all, and is a celebration of beautiful melodies. Some sentimental, some nostalgic, some modern, some shockingly old –fashioned, some quirky, some funny,  and some serious, tragic and sad – but always beautiful, personal and very entertaining.

Western Cape Provincial Congress

What can one say – the energy, music, excitement, and wave after blue wave of over a thousand delegates from all over the Western Cape standing up, sitting down, dancing, clapping, singing, passing motions, expressing support, shouting and cheering.  A rousing speech – read the Western Cape DA Provincial Congress address – by DA Parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane in which he announced that he had accepted the nomination as leader of the DA and hammered home a clear message – that the DA is on the move – and nowhere more than in the Western Cape under our newly elected provincial leader Patricia de Lille, deputy provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela and chairman Anton Bredell. We are gearing up and preparing to roll into more ANC wards come 2016.

Ward 57 was well represented by councillors Brett Herron and Paddy Chapple along with our non-public delegates. Reports, articles and analysis have been done elsewhere – see http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/politics/2015/04/18/patricia-de-lille-elected-as-the-new-leader-of-the-da-in-the-western-cape and http://citizen.co.za/365403/patricia-de-lille-new-da-wcape-leader/ and Provincial Congress Minutes.  As the photos below attest – “we have seen the future of the Western Cape, and it is going to be even more DA.”

Breakfast with Mmusi Maimane

Yesterday Ward 57 had the pleasure to host a breakfast at The Kitchen in Woodstock  for around 30 invited guests who met, chatted with and listened to DA Parliamentary Leader Mmusi Maimane MP, discuss his thoughts, ideas, and insights about South Africa. In a wide ranging speech the following points stand out:

On the ANC: After 20 years in power its leadership has lost the plot, lacks political will or effective leadership and does not respect the Constitution or the institutions of state which are meant to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.  Preferring rather to subvert them to defend their own entrenched interests.

Opposition role: The DA is in for the long haul, as we understand the importance of democratic principles and the need to protect and uphold them as an effective opposition.  This goes beyond grandstanding and means taking the government to task if necessary on a wide array of issues – education, defence, spending, corruption, Eskom – backed up by research.

Corruption: In the budget R9 billion was raised by increasing taxation – R30 billion alone has been lost with corruption, Government should be looking at corruption, and cutting down on wasteful spending.

Waiting to go in

Reflections in Sir Lowry Road

A guest, Mmusi and Zakhele Mbhele

A long breakfast table

The Kitchen is a wonderful place

Education:  It is the only way for the youth to become employable, youth unemployment is the highest it has ever been and current education policies are failing them miserably.

Power to the People

Stalwarts spent a few hours manning an information table and handing out pamphlets outside Obs Quick Spar in Station Road to bring home the point that Resolving SA’s electricity crisis starts with breaking Eskom’s monopoly.

A quorum

Rest of quorum

It’s all blue

It is unsustainable for 95% of our electricity to come from Eskom, a state-owned entity characterized by mismanagement. Our economy cannot grow without a stable power supply. It is estimated that 10% of potential economic growth totalling R300 billion has been lost since 2008 due to electricity supply constraints.

The Sound of Laughter

Weeeaaarrre Baaaaaack: Ward 57 and Alan Committie  will be back on Friday 5th December at the Theatre on the Bay for this year’s Ward fundraiser.  Starring the irrepressible One Man Committee of
 Comedy,  Alan Committie is bound to have us in stitches as, well … Julie Andrews (???) in The Sound of Laughter and a whole host of mad persona including:

• Selfies to Christmas Elfies,
• Banting whilst bunting,
• The final say on the Pistorius trial, and
• A beautifully nuanced recreation of The Sound of Music – in 8 minutes

Office move

Observatory Community Centre

In June the Constituency Office moved from Station Road to the Observatory Community Centre on the corner of Rawson and Collingwood Roads Observatory.

Manned by Councillor Paddy Chapple and Naz it is an advice office which is open from 7.30 to 12:00 every day and has the following telephone number: 021 447 9029

Keep the Western Cape DA! Register to win!

Queens Park in action

To keep the Western Cape blue, and to make the rest of the country blue we need every DA supporter to register and vote in 2014. To check whether you are registered in your area, you can:

• SMS your name and ID number to 43783 and one of our staff will call to assist (sms costs  50c).
• Dial 0861 22 55 32,
• SMS the IEC at 32810 (R1.50 per SMS), or
• Check your registration status online at the IEC

If it turns out that you are not registered or incorrectly registered then register by coming to your your local IEC voting station during the registration weekend of 8th and 9th February.  

Know your DA DVD screening

Members enthusiastically discussing the DVD

Last night’s screening (Thurs 18 July) at The Marian Institute of the KNOW YOUR DA DVD was a great success, over 20 members got together despite the rain and cold to watch and discuss the DVD; meander down memory lane; and mingle and chat to each other as we build toward the 2014 Elections.

The story of the Democratic Alliance, is a 12 minute video, which has put the the ANC into a tizz because it tells the story of the struggle against apartheid as being one which was fought on many fronts, and one in which many people played their part.  And while all the history books reflect the roles of the liberation movements in the struggle for freedom, there is another part of this story that remains largely untold.  It is a story that some have tried to change, or even erase entirely from history. It is the story of the Democratic Alliance.

The “Know Your DA” campaign was launched over two months ago. 800,000 pamphlets have been distributed, and nearly 300,000 South Africans have seen the DVD in their homes.  It will also be available in nine languages.

Helen Zille said in a press release that:

“For too long we have allowed our political opponents to define us. To counter this deception we  must reclaim our history. We must ensure that we never lose sight of the golden thread that connects our past, present and future: the fight against apartheid and its legacy of poverty, unemployment and inequality.”

Rates rebates clinics

Ward 57 will be holding four rates rebates clinics around the ward on:

• 27 July – St Lukes Church in Salt River,
• 3 August – Constituency office in Observatory,
• 17 August – Vredehoek Library, and
• 24 August – Marion Institute District 6.

All clinics will be held from 10h00 to 13h00.

Broadly the rebates, grants and other relief measures are as follows:
Residents with properties valued at less than R400 000, and households with a gross monthly household income of R3 000 or less are entitled to free basic services. Households with incomes between R3 500 and R4 000 qualify for a 75% rebate; those with incomes between R4 000 and R4 500 qualify for a 50% rebate; while those with an income of between R4 500 and R5 000 qualify for a 25% rebate.

Senior citizens qualify for rates rebates where gross monthly household income is less than R12 000, while the city also grants Indigent assistance  to all households with a gross monthly income of R3 500 or less of a 100% rates rebate, an additional 4,5 kl of water, and a 240 l refuse bin.

Residents who think they qualify must bring their ID books, a rates account and three months bank statements as proof of their income.

Liesbeek River clean up

On Saturday the 29th of September a group of us along with some of the Friends of the Liesbeek donned our gumboots, gloves, anoraks and blue t-shirts to help clean up the Liesbeek river. Despite the cold and wind we collected many bags of rubbish in what proved to be both an educational experience and a successful Blue Wave Event.