Cape Town - Injustice towards coloured people is one of the issues that spurred the Freedom Front Plus candidate for ward 105, Grant Marais, to enter the race to become a councillor in the City of Cape Town.
If the name sounds familiar, it is because Grant is the son of former Western Cape premier and now FF+ MPL Peter Marais, who served as the inaugural mayor of Cape Town back in 2000.
Grant Marais said that the political bug bit him in 2013 when he became a member of the civil rights group Bruin Bemagtiging Beweging (Brown Empowerment Movement), which was started by the late Danny Titus and Peter Marais.
“I saw the injustice towards our coloured people as I worked alongside my father, who was retired at the time.
“My decision to stand for public office is based on my personal conviction that nothing can change for the better for my own people unless people like myself also get involved.
“The lack of service delivery in poorer communities is resulting in piles of uncollected dirt blowing over open fields in which children play on a daily basis. The lack of recreational facilities and shortage of developmental opportunities for unemployed youth is also a great concern to me,” said Grant Marais.
A banker by profession, Grant Marais is studying for a law degree and is the chairperson of the FF+ branch in Durbanville. He will be taking on the incumbent councillor for the area, the DA’s Ruan Beneke.
The Wazimap website shows that at the last local government election, ward 105 had 16 894 registered voters, of whom 63% cast their votes.
It also shows that 24% of homes in the area, or 2 599 households, are informal dwellings or shacks.