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The Joburg Student Council has elected its
10-member executive, lead by junior mayor Stephanie van Straten.
STEPHANIE van Straten, a Grade 11 learner
at Beaulieu College
in Kyalami, has wanted to become Johannesburg's
junior mayor since the first time she attended a meeting of the Student
Council.
Newly elected: Joburg Student Council mayor Stephanie van Straten
And now her dreams have come true; she
occupies the highest position in the Johannesburg Student Council executive, leading
another nine junior councillors.
"I am delighted to have an opportunity to
lead this incredible youth project," Van Straten said after being elected. "I
really wanted to be [junior] mayor."
The city's junior councillors travelled to
the Kloofendal Nature Reserve, in the west of Joburg, to elect their executive
council on Saturday, 27 June, a day that was marked by excitement.
In an election that was overseen by the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), more than 130 members of the junior
council chose their leaders. In all, 10 members were elected to the executive,
a body that will drive council projects.
James McLaren of St Stithian's College, who
is popular among his peers for his views on general topics, was elected Speaker.
Noluthando Malaza and Phumlani Nyamathe are respectively deputy mayor and
deputy Speaker.
Zuzile Pondo is the new chairperson of the
transport committee. "I feel great about being elected and I'm ready to start
working," said Pondo, who hails from Sedibeng and is a pupil at the National
School of Arts (NSA) in Braamfontein.
Ayla Hoogervorst took the lead in the
environment portfolio. The learner from Beaulieu College
convincingly illustrated her interests and knowledge on the environment during
electioneering, and many had expected her to be elected to lead the committee.
"Being elected is very important to me as
it allows me to expand my passion, which is the environment," she said.
Deputy mayor Noluthando Malaza
Mogamat Jardine, a student from Westbury High School, was elected chairperson of
the safety portfolio. During his campaign Jardine told voters he was aware of
crime patterns as he was from a crime-ridden area.
Tumelo Sekhokoane, an energetic young man, leads
the community development team. "We should educate people on taking care of our
communities," he said.
Sabeenah Mahomed was elected to lead the
health portfolio. The committees will be made of councillors whose role will be
to undertake projects that are aimed at transforming the lives of Joburg residents.
They will also adopt individual projects.
The Joburg Student Council was project-driven,
the manager in the City's Office of the speaker, Kureish Isaacs, reminded the learners.
"Our aim is to give you skills, [ranging] from financial management to project
management."
Campaigning
Driving into the nature reserve on election day, one was greeted by campaign
posters. The candidates had spent some time setting up a band of placards
urging members to vote them into the executive.
Each candidate was challenged to attract the
other councillors to listen to their speeches - they were all given a platform
to deliver one-minute speeches - but it was on the field that they were able to
canvass productively.
"This is an open market and you've got to
sell yourself," said Rafick Charles, a Johannesburg IEC official, before their
campaigns began in earnest.
Nine candidates were running for mayor. Van
Straten campaigned on a ticket of gaining recognition for the Student Council.
"I believe we need to be heard in the Johannesburg
community," she told her listeners. "We need to raise funds and go into
hospitals and orphanages."
Election day for the Joburg Student Council
Another, Telisha Mogano, a well-spoken
teenager, got the voters to listen to her. "I am confident that as the youth of
today we can fire up ourselves and inspire everybody," she told those who had
gathered to hear her speak.
Change
Mogano quoted American President Barack
Obama, saying: "Change I will bring. Change we need."
Mpho Lebete, who was also running for
mayor, spoke about transforming the lives of the poor. "I would like to get all
children off the streets. We have a privilege of going to school, but there's a
child who does not know anything about maths."
Most of the candidates made significant use
of the one-minute speech-delivering platform; some dropped witty speeches and
others gained recognition by entertaining the crowd.
"My dream is to make Joburg a world-class
city. A baton has been passed on to us," punted Zuko Khoza, another mayoral
candidate.
"I want to revolutionise everything. It is
time we take the Student Council to the next level," said Mona Morienyane, from
NSA. Morienyane was running for Speaker, against 15 other junior councillors.
The Midvaal Local Municipality junior council as on hand to monitor the election.
"We have come to exchange our ideas and to
learn from the Joburg Student Council," said Midvaal Speaker Ron Smit, who had
come with the member of the mayoral council or finance, corporate services and
human resources, Pat Hutcheson, and eight other junior councillors. Midvaal's
junior mayor, Mkhuseli Radebe, and junior Speaker, Charles Demborsky, were
among them.
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