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Download AudioTwo-term Tokoroa ward councillor Arama Ngapo wants to take a step up and become mayor of South Waikato.
Current mayor Jenny Shattock is retiring.
Ms Ngapo says her time on council as well as her experience as a lawyer has prepared her for a role requiring good communication skills and the ability to read and absorb large volumes of information quickly.
She describes the district, which takes in Tirau, Putaruru, Torokora, Arapuni and Kinleith, as the heart of Aotearoa – even if many of the statistics don’t make good reading.
“Low education rates, high unemployment, low access to medical and health needs, housing is another big issues, so for my community those are issues that really affect our day to day lives and council has the ability to participate, change and impact those areas. That’s what I want to be part of,” Ms Ngapo says.
She says here work on the local government steering group advising the Government on Resource Management Act reforms, which has given her a national perspective on some of the issues councils like South Waikato face.
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