A Kensington crime-fighter has vowed to put his skills to good use after he was elected as the area’s new ward councillor.
Cheslyn Steenberg is a man with many honours under his belt, and has played a pivotal role in fighting crime in his community as the chairperson of the local CPF.
Standing under the banner of the Patriotic Alliance, he was elected Ward 56 councillor in a by-election on February 8, after 1 321 residents voted for him.
This is also the PA’s first ward seat in the City of Cape Town.
Cheslyn says the win still feels unreal: “I am so humbled by the confidence the residents put in me to be their ward councillor.
“I want to believe that I have the capabilities to serve the ward on a holistic level.
“I have served various sectors in the ward, from youth, health, education, safety and security to name a few, and I think that has groomed me to be a good ward councillor.”
He adds that among other things, his focus for the first 100 days will be on one particularly sore point for residents – the removal of a large tent on Voortrekker Road housing foreign nationals.
“The tent was put up during Covid and it’s still there. There are criminal elements lurking there, prostitutes and illegal foreigners.”
And of course, he will continue on his quest to make Kensington crime-free.
“I am going to ensure that our local neighbourhood watches are empowered with the necessary resources and use technology to our advantage,” Cheslyn adds.
“I believe that technology like drones and LPR cameras can help us fight crime.”
Bertram Bartlett, a resident and member of the Kensington CPF, has been working with Cheslyn for roughly 12 years.
He says Cheslyn’s the right man for the job as he has been active in the community from a young age.
“He was quite actively involved in the neighbourhood watches and at night they would call Cheslyn to come and sort things out.
“When he became chairperson [of the CPF] he was even more active and would sacrifice his family time when there was a shooting in the area,” Bertram adds.
“He was our local hero for ward 56, so I was not surprised that he was elected.”