By Nangamso Mabindla

Discipline will be the new buzzword in the council that will be serving Buffalo City for the next five years.

These are the tough-talking words of the council's speaker, Luleka Simon, when asked about the seriousness of being elected to serve the people.

"We need to remember that we are here to serve our communities. That is why we as councillors need to take our jobs seriously, and discipline will be the key if we want to achieve that," she says.

The daughter of a domestic worker, Simon became involved in politics to improve the lives of underprivileged people. "Because of my background I'm very passionate about our people. That is why I saw politics as an opportunity to better the lives of the people," she explains. "That is also one of the reasons why I feel that we need to install more discipline in our council."

Her journey to the speaker's chair has been a long one, but Simon (41) says it has been rewarding. Following a stint as a carpenter, she joined various trade unions to improve the lives of workers. "It was after I had left the company that I joined a trade union as a volunteer in 1989. I joined the South African Allied Workers' Union."

Following that union's closure, Simon joined the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union, where she worked until she joined the Buffalo City council in 2000.

"When the call to join the council and improve the lives of the residents of Buffalo City was made, I couldn't resist the opportunity. And when I was selected to serve on the mayoral committee, I knew I had a chance to serve the people to the best of my ability," she says.

Looking ahead to her new responsibilities, Simon says the most important aspect of any structure is discipline. "I would like us to establish rules and ethics committees and look at important aspects like the discipline and conduct of the councillors."

However, the core responsibility of the City council is to ensure that key services are delivered to the 880 000 residents of Buffalo City. "As the speaker of the council one of my main aims is to ensure that there is a good working relationship between councilors and officials so that services are delivered to our people.

"And in the next five years in office we also intend to close the gap between the municipality and the communities," she adds.

Source: Buffalo City