Four ward councillor candidates respond to KRRA’s questions ahead of the municipal elections
Don’t forget to vote on 4 November at the 2026 municipal elections. In anticipation of the important event, KRRA sent questions to as many political candidates standing for Ward 61 as we could find, using contact details through the official public election registries.
Admittedly, we didn’t give them a great deal of time to respond – around one week – but we only received responses from four candidates:
Melshaw Wyngaard, ActionSA
Yagyah Adams, Cape Muslim Congress
Simon Liell-Cock, Democratic Alliance
Pieter Jansen van Vuuren, Vryheidsfront Plus / Freedom Front Plus
1. Local Government is often accused of not taking public participation seriously. Do you think this is the case and if so, what actions would you take if elected?
Melshaw Wyngaard: Above are my opening lines, committing to being a present councillor and a party that governs with the people. This is the very reason I have stepped forward in finding a party who puts people first and becoming their councillor candidate.
Yagyah Adams: Regular meetings in the ward. Once a month.
Simon Liell-Cock: No, I do not agree. The following opportunities for public participation exist: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) meetings, Spatial Development Plan meetings, annual budget meetings, monthly sub-council meetings, ward committee meetings and the recently formed Spatial Planning Forum.
Your DA ward councillors also attend CPF meetings, Civic Association and NGO meetings where community issues are discussed.
The City of Cape Town is also the only Metro that has sub-councils which exist to bring government closer to the people. As the current sub-council chair I have worked hard to make this body more relevant to the layman especially regarding the capital budget.
There are many opportunities for the public to participate in local government affairs but for it to work it is incumbent on the public to take up the opportunities available.
As your DA councillor I have also had an open-door policy and hold a weekly councillors clinic to be accessible to the people.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren: Hold regular open ward meetings and feedback sessions; publish agendas, decisions and follow-ups online and via WhatsApp groups; create formal channels with KRRA and other civics so resident input reaches council before decisions; report back quarterly on what was raised and actioned.
2. In your view, what are the greatest environmental assets in the Southern Peninsula and how would you go about protecting them better?
Melshaw Wyngaard: The Southern Peninsula's greatest environmental assets include the coastline, marine ecosystems, wetlands, mountain ranges, indigenous fynbos, biodiversity corridors, and protected areas associated with Table Mountain National Park.
Yagyah Adams: Illegal squatting on sensitive land.
Simon Liell-Cock: The South Peninsula has a wealth of environmental assets including flora, fauna, and marine life. The biggest threats to this are pollution and invasive alien species.
As the current ward councillor, I have been working with the city’s biodiversity branch to employ teams of local residents to remove litter and invasive alien vegetation. This project has removed thousands of tons of pollution and has cleared thousands of hectares of alien vegetation and has been so successful that it has rolled out to 50 wards in the city. This is a project close to my heart, and I will continue working to expand it further.
I was also involved in forming the Coastal Management Department, which has been so successful in coastal dune rehabilitation and ensuring that our coastal beaches and waters comply with international standards.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren:
Table Mountain National Park, fynbos, coastal dunes, beaches, Slangkop and surrounding wildland, and the broader Peninsula ecosystem (including nearby penguin colonies).
Protect via better waste management, strategic baboon-proof fencing to keep troops in natural habitat, invasive-alien clearing, fire-break maintenance, and strict enforcement against illegal dumping/development encroachment.
Support science-based management that reduces human-wildlife conflict without destroying the asset.
3. More often locally and globally we are seeing the impacts of climate change through flooding, fires, heatwaves, coastal, storm surges, landslips, food insecurity, migration and droughts. How would you help ensure that the various communities of Cape Town build resilience against such threats?
Melshaw Wyngaard: I would advocate for better stormwater maintenance and flood prevention infrastructure. Improve fire prevention through vegetation management and community education. Protection of wetlands and natural buffers that reduce flooding. Community emergency preparedness programmes. Support for local food security projects and community gardens.
At the end, resilience is strongest when communities, civic organisations and government work together to identify risks before disasters occur.
Yagyah Adams: We must, at all costs, focus on the preservation of the natural environment. I would encourage smaller families.
Simon Liell-Cock: The City of Cape Town under the DA has been working on this issue for years and has an advanced climate change strategy which aims to reduce the vulnerability of the municipality to climate change impacts, improve urban greening, enhance water supply, and reduce storm damage.
The action plan acknowledges the need for collaboration with national and provincial governments as well as NGOs and local communities to achieve these objectives. As the ward councillor I will continue working with coastal management and planning to implement this strategy.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren:
Strengthen early-warning systems, firebreaks and community fire teams for wildfire risk.
Improve stormwater drainage, coastal defences and dune protection against flooding and storm surges.
Promote rainwater harvesting, water-wise gardens and resilient infrastructure.
Support neighbourhood emergency plans and vulnerable-resident registers for heat, drought and extreme events.
4. Property rates are going up faster than the average inflation rate and many residents feel that they are being forced out of the areas that they helped make attractive and welcoming. What practical steps would you take to ensure that property rates and service charges are kept affordable for everyone in the ward?
Melshaw Wyngaard: Affordability is a major concern, particularly for pensioners, long-term residents and working families. I will advocate for fair and transparent property valuation processes.
We must support relief measures available to pensioners and vulnerable households. Oppose unnecessary expenditure that places additional pressure on ratepayers. The goal should be a municipality that remains financially sustainable while ensuring residents are not priced out of their communities.
Yagyah Adams: No rate increases for 5 years and no extra surcharges.
Simon Liell-Cock: Property rates are a function of the Municipal Property Rates Act which requires that property values must be used in calculating the rates.
Property prices are not determined by the city but by the market and it is evident that property prices in Cape Town have increased more than the rest of South Africa and that property prices in Ward 61 have increased more than prices in the rest of Cape Town.
The City cannot change this and only has leeway to ensure affordability by providing exemptions, reductions and rebates. It is in influencing the policies on exemptions, reductions, and rebates in Council that a councillor fights for the residents of his Ward.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren:
Push for efficiency audits so rate increases stay closer to inflation.
Prioritise maintenance over expensive new projects where possible.
Expand targeted rebates/indigent support for pensioners and lower-income households.
Ensure service charges reflect actual delivery and that waste/baboon-related costs are managed cost-effectively.
5. Write down 5 essential qualities that you think every local councillor should demonstrate in their approach to municipal work, especially with regard to the circumstances and concerns of specific groups who have raised them?
Melshaw Wyngaard: Be present, be accessible, be accountable, have empathy, be independent of judgement.
Yagyah Adams: Availability, dignity, honesty, intelligence, and practical approach.
Simon Liell-Cock: 1. Ethical behaviour. 2. An understanding of local government legislation especially the Municipal Systems Act, the Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Public Finance Management Act. 3. A track record of voluntary public work on the ground in the community. 4. Previous employment/work experience outside of government. 5. Communication skills.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren: Integrity and transparency; accessibility and genuine listening to all residents (including specific groups); practical problem-solving over ideology; accountability for delivery and follow-through; and fairness that balances competing community interests without favouritism.
6. Look up differences between participatory and representative democracy and say how would you go about work as a councillor combining the best elements of both approaches?
Melshaw Wyngaard: My two campaign commitments would answer this question but let me go into more detail. It is important that I consult with residents on a regular [basis] before major decisions are made. An opportunity must be given to residents to help shape priorities and budgets according to the needs of their community.
Very important to provide feedback to the community (Ward 61 residents) to show how their input influenced the outcomes. Remember this, residents elect a councillor to lead and effective leadership requires ongoing engagement with the people who
the decision made will affect.
Yagyah Adams: Take guidance from community representatives like neighborhood watch, ratepayers associations, etc.
Simon Liell-Cock: As the ward councillor I would continue representing all the people in the ward on the sub-council, the city council, the portfolio committees and the statutory bodies to which I am allocated.
I would also continue being on the ground in the community engaging with the civic associations, businesses and NGOs working in the community.
Ward committees are the legislated mechanism for participatory government and, as the chair of this body, I would continue working to develop the skills and understanding of the members of this body so that they can engage effectively with their sectors.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren:
Representative: take the ward’s collective mandate into council and vote on that basis.
Participatory: run regular consultations, working groups with civics, and transparent reporting so residents shape priorities.
Combine both by consulting widely first, then representing the informed ward position firmly, not simply following a party line.
7. If elected, would you endorse an agreement with our civic body to carry the position of residents on a particular matter to council decision making forums as opposed to simply adopting the party line? Yes / No?
Melshaw Wyngaard: In all honesty, when elected as ward councillor, regardless of the party, you already accept this responsibility because you are the elected representative, elected by the people to represent the interest of the people.
Therefore it is important that when I am elected, I work alongside the Far South Peninsula Community Forum as it is this forum that represents the entire ward 61.
Yagyah Adams: There is no party line because my party is based on community support.
Simon Liell-Cock: No ward councillor can legitimately endorse an agreement with one organisation in the ward as such an endorsement would be contrary to the law. The Municipal Systems Act requires ward councillors to ensure that the interests of all the residents in the community are represented, not just one organisation.
As far as the party line goes, when any councillor differs with his party these issues are taken up in the caucus and robust debate frequently occurs in the DA caucus. I have in the past both won and lost but that’s how democracy works. The DA does also allow for a vote of conscience on specific issues especially where these are controversial.
Pieter Janse Van Vuuren: I will carry the clearly expressed position of residents (via KRRA and similar bodies) into Council decision-making forums rather than defaulting to any party line.
Please note: The total number of candidates for ward 61 is 40 and only 20 contact numbers were listed. We are uncertain whether these details have changed.
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