Angry Ward 37 Bay residents want councillor removed

Accusations of racism and bullying, as well as allegedly giving her cronies Covid-19 food parcels and withholding projects from SMMEs.

These are some of the reasons a small group of Bethelsdorp residents want to see the back of Ward 37 councillor Georginia Faldtman.

About 20 residents had to return home without handing over their memorandum of demands to Faldtman as the councillor’s office was closed.

Resident Terence Williams accused Faldtman of not caring about residents’ needs.

“All she does is chase people away from the office; we have tried to speak to her and the ward committee but she does not have the time.

“There are people living in shacks and she is failing to address the housing issue and she is not assisting with the job creation as she does not support SMMEs, and Ward 37 residents are not benefiting from service delivery projects,” Williams said.

Faldtman only gave work in the area to DA-aligned residents, he claimed.

“At the beginning of lockdown she gave people forms for food parcel benefits but no-one in this ward has ever received any food parcels and we hear that she instead gave those to her friends and family.”

Another protester, Quinton Baadjies, said they were tired of Faldtman’s alleged bullying tactics and racist remarks.

“We will not stop until we are addressed or she steps down.

“We will be back again next week until someone accepts this [memorandum of demands].

“We have tried to make the DA leadership aware of our complaints about Faldtman but we have not received any kind of response,” Baadjies said.

Pralene Jacobs said she had lost faith in the DA, threatening to vote for another party at the 2021 municipal elections  should their living conditions not change for the better.

“For years we have asked for services such as a clinic for this area [Bethelsdorp Extension 31], but she is unproductive and not playing a positive role in the community,” Jacobs said.

Faldtman said she had closed the office and sent staff home for security reasons.

However, she downplayed the accusations, saying they were politically motivated and instigated by individuals who had a personal vendetta against her.

“Williams and Baadjies are the instigators of this whole thing because we’ve had dealings before and knocked heads.

“Williams had a job cleaning one of the parks but he was not going to work and expecting to get paid, and blamed the contractor at the park not paying him.

“Baadjies has a problem because he used to work with the previous councillor,” Faldtman said.

While Williams could not be reached regarding Faldtman’s comments, Baadjies said they had nothing personal against the councillor, and that they marched because of poor service delivery.

Faldtman said she would write to DA leaders and Nelson Mandela Bay council speaker Buyelwa Mafaya’s office to request security for her office.

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