Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi cast her vote at Crestview Primary School in Chatsworth.
Minority Front leader and eThekwini mayoral candidate Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi has vowed to prioritise service delivery and review the municipal budget if elected to office.
Thakur-Rajbansi, who cast her vote at Crestview Primary School in Chatsworth on Wednesday, said reviewing the budget would be among the first responsibilities of a new mayor and council.
“If elected, the first thing I would do is review the budget. It was only passed in July, and the previous council had only a few months to work with it.”
She said the new council needed to reach an agreement on how the budget should be reallocated to address residents' needs.
“We have campaigned extensively over almost a year, and during that time we have seen the deterioration of infrastructure and the breakdown in service delivery. These are things that will require more funding. I also think these issues are what most parties have promised residents they will be working on. So, we have to get it right.
“People need water in their taps and electricity. The days of water and sanitation mixing must be over. We are going to cut out all the ‘frills and fancies’ in local government, including lunches and parties. Those days are over because now we mean business. We need to start prioritising people because they are really suffering.”
Thakur-Rajbansi encouraged residents to exercise their democratic right and make their voices heard at the polls.
“If you want to see change, you have to be the change.”
The POST visited several voting stations at schools across Chatsworth, where voter turnout appeared relatively low, with some stations recording little to no activity at the time of the visits.