Oi, put that in your paper!

SIMBA GARANDE

23 March 2009

What do you like about Southwark?
"The borough is fairly clean, and the people here are nice. It has the local community feel about it and the people make it feel like that."

What is your favourite place in the borough?
"I like Surrey Quays, I go there very often. There you have the cinema, the bowling alley and the shopping centre so you can always be entertained there. You have a lot of places available in a close area so definitely Surrey Quays."

What would you change about the borough?
"I would bring back the Spa Road job centre. There is no point in closing the job centre in a time like this. People who are out of work now have to travel all the way to Elephant and Castle to look for work. Some people can't even afford to travel on buses so they end up losing out."

Do you feel the council does enough for its residents?
"Not really. I feel as if they tend to neglect people in Southwark. When I was renting from the council I wanted some repairs done to my flat. I booked them to come along on February and they only turned up in August."

What could the council do to improve the situation?
"They need to stop outsourcing to private companies. That's where the problems lie. If the council took care of the residents themselves then they could make sure that a proper job is done."

Interview by Lance Boyd

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