From dead cats to fast lanes – all in a day’s work

SUZANNE BELLING

PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED

From 07:00 until midnight, Marcelle Ravid, former DA councillor for Ward 73 in Johannesburg, had to deal with calls like these. “I was so passionate about my work, but now, after 14 years and eight months, I have resigned,” said the mother of two, who did not realise that her husband Boaz, and sons Nadav and Tom, were almost as affected as she was.

Her ward included Norwood, Orange Grove, Oaklands, Upper and Lower Houghton, Riviera and parts of Killarney – and she was always available for everyone, even for citizens living outside her jurisdiction.

An unplanned outage, a power failure, a water leak… Ravid worked her magic. “I understood how difficult it is to work with the City of Johannesburg. It is a total mess. But now, at least the call centre seems to be working.”

Ravid is proud of her involvement in two City Council achievements – a new public swimming pool to be built at Paterson Park, its complete renovation; the positive effect of the Rapid Bus Transit plans and the interest shown by property developers because of the injection into the budget. There is a three year plan in place for improvements in the area.

She revealed a renewal project at Balfour Park, where a bus station is in the offing and Grant Avenue has been pinpointed for rejuvenation. “Research is being carried out together with landlords in the area.”

Would the pending bus scheme affect taxis along Louis Botha Avenue? “When the bus route was introduced into Soweto, taxis were incorporated into the plans and 500 were taken off the roads. Johannesburg is now in negotiation with the Alexandra Taxi Association.”

Ravid will be around to witness the fruits of her endeavours, living in Norwood and working for ORT, which is based nearby. Her role is marketing and communications manager, involving her in outreach projects, mainly in Alexandra township next to Sandton.

“We are teaching teachers to teach maths and assist past matrics who want to improve their marks in these subjects. We are also involved in skills development and small business development.”

Johannesburg-born Ravid matriculated from Waverley Girls’ High School and began her studies in biblical archaeology at the University of the Witwatersrand. She went to Israel in 1976 where she obtained a BA (hons) in archaeology and Jewish history. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “We were allowed to do our exams in English.”

Ravid is very proud of the lectures she attended by the late famed Yigal Yadin, of the Institute of Archaeology, who was responsible for excavations of Masada.

She plans to continue her studies in archaeology in the future.

She met and married Boaz, a psychologist, and they lived for almost 14 years in a roof garden flat in Tel Aviv, before settling in Johannesburg in 1990.

For eight years before its closure, Ravid ran the Israel Government Tourist Office in South Africa and was, inter alia, responsible for sending members of the SA media on tours to Israel. She joined ORT in 1912.

There will be a by-election for Ravid’s replacement and she anticipates the local government elections – due for next year – will take place next August.