NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SUBMIT A PETITION FROM THE COMMUNITY CALLING FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE CURRENT WARD COUNCILLOR, GENEVIEVE SHERMAN

For the attention of the DA (Democratic Alliance) Chief Whip

On Behalf of the residents of Wards 69, 82 and 58

In terms of Section 19 of the Code of Conduct, ward councillors are bound by specific Service Delivery competencies. If they do not meet key measurable requirements a vote of no confidence can be tabled by stakeholders and the community.
After considerable consultations with residents and multiple attempts to liaise with and get Cllr Genevieve Sherman to engage with the community, and report back on issues that have been raised with her over the last 6 years and receiving little to no meaningful assistance, we are hereby notifying the DA of our intention to compile a petition calling for the removal of Cllr Sherman.
What follows is a list of the areas of non-performance by Cllr Sherman:
The responsibility to report back to constituencies and communities. In the past 6 years of her tenure as councillor in Wards 69, 82 and 58 Cllr Sherman has had less than a handful of community meetings or feedback sessions. This was a problem even before lockdown. During lockdown no attempt was made by the cllr to engage with various communities either via pamphlets or on the hundreds of Whatsapp groups that exist.
The community is currently beset by problems with electricity, water supply, crime and infrastructure damage. The councillor is required to report, at least quarterly, to constituencies on council matters and the progress being made in certain problem areas. This has not been done.
Councillors are required to report on the performance of the municipalities in terms of established indicators in order to ensure their obligations to the community are fulfilled. This has not been done.
A councillor must perform the functions of office in good faith and honestly and in a transparent manner. She needs to act in the best interest of the municipality and in such a manner that does not compromise the integrity of the municipality. The communities that she is supposed to service have lost all belief and trust in Cllr Sherman and as a result in the municipality and the DA.
The DA for Region B has also failed to attend any meetings with the CPF, continually citing conflict of meeting dates. Which means that they have done nothing to support the community’s efforts to curtail the crime wave that continues to worsen.
A councillor is obligated to attend each meeting of committees for which she is a member. She failed to inform the community when committee voting was opened for the 2020 to 2025 term.
If a councillor doesn’t attend meetings of a committee 3 or more times (other than municipal/council) that the councillor is required to attend in terms of item 3 then said councillor must be removed from office.
Disclosure of interests-A councillor may not use the position or privileges of their position for private gain or to improperly benefit another person. We believe that cllr Sherman is guilty of this practice by passing off associates as stakeholders.
The councillor is obligated to assist residents and constituents or at the very least engage people who can help. The community is supposed to be able to bring almost every problem they are experiencing to the councillor and reasonably expect to be assisted. This has not proven to be the case with cllr Sherman. This has resulted in residents often having to liaise directly with national and provincial spheres of government in order to have their issues dealt with in a timeous manner.
She has held no community meetings since 2018 and more recently Ward Committee members have not received the stipends owed to them.
Wards 69, 82 and 58 are beset by problems with open communal areas not being managed. Fields and parks aren’t cleaned and become hotspots for illegal dumping. The crime rate and addiction levels are out of control and electricity is a almost weekly concern in terms of outages. Most troubling though is that for almost 3 months our water supply has been unreliable. Currently we haven’t had a steady supply of water for nearly 3 weeks. When approached about these issues cllr Sherman either doesn’t respond on WhatsApp or gives non-committal replies. Residents are left to escalate or even raise problems of service delivery themselves and receive absolutely no communication about the situation.

We are hereby officially requesting that a vote of no confidence in Cllr Genevieve Sherman and her removal as Ward Councillor for Wards 69, 82 and 58.


Yours sincerely,


ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS OF WARDS 69 and 82