Former Pinelands councillor Brian Watkyns has received a lifetime achievement award for his years of public service and dedication to the community.
Mr Watkyns, who served as Ward 53 councillor for 39 years, was honoured at the Pinelands Ratepayers’ Association’s annual general meeting, at the town hall, on Monday.
Over the years, Mr Watkyns, 71, from Pinelands, has served as the acting mayor and deputy mayor of the old Pinelands municipality, a portfolio chairman, a sub-council chairman and an executive committee chairman for planning.
He was there for the first local government elections in 1996 and the amalgamation of numerous municipalities into a single metro council.
In 1995, he established the Pinelands Community Police Forum with Peter Henry and was elected vice chair.
Among his achievements, he lists blocking, with the help of the Pinelands Ratepayers’ Association, the Pinelands general valuation, which would have increased Pinelands rates up to 72%, as well as the proposed amalgamation of Pinelands with the Goodwood municipality.
Other career highlights include establishing a trading by-law, which limited informal trading to designated areas in Pinelands, and proposing that the original area of Pinelands be declared a heritage area, which happened in 2015.
More recently, Mr Watkyns and Yazid Davids, from the ratepayers’ association, established the Pinelands History website, and Mr Davids said Mr Watkyns was one of those public servants who was always accessible and he had many intriguing stories to tell about Pinelands stories.
“Brian has a way of transforming you with his stories. It was a humbling experience being part of the process, but more needs to be done to preserve the area’s heritage. Brian truly deserves all the recognition,” he said.
Riad Davids, who took over as Ward 53 councillor, said Mr Watkyns had convinced him to run for ward councillor.
“It has been an honour to work with you all these years and to call you my friend. You have lived an exemplary life,” he said.
Mr Watkyns said his career had had its ups and downs and constituents expected a councillor to deal with all problems and be on call 24.7.
“My son asked me recently how I coped, and I jokingly said I just rode the wave and kept my humour, but it was my faith and strong belief in what I was doing that kept me going,” he said.
Mr Watkyns said he attended a public meeting in 1979, where he had raised some issues, and days later, he had found himself on the executive committee, and he had been involved ever since. He now serves as a DA proportional representation (PR) councillor.
Mr Watkyns thanked his wife, Anne, and his family for all the sacrifices over the years, for keeping him motivated and for the role they played. He thanked the residents of Pinelands and Thornton for their support and believing in him.
“Without the support of the community, I could never have done the things I did. There were times my actions came under scrutiny, but I always tried to do what was right. I will miss the interaction with residents but not the late night calls.”
Former Ward 59 councillor Ian Iversen, who worked with Mr Watkyns for all the years, congratulated him, saying his award was well deserved.
“Brian is like a dog with a bone: he will not let up and will stay committed. You have served your community well.”
