European Parliament member Assita Kanko (N-VA) wants to become the first female mayor of Vilvoorde. The N-VA has nominated her as party leader in the upcoming municipal elections, it was announced on Wednesday evening.
Kanko primarily wants to work on a ‘strong integration policy’ in Vilvoorde. “We want to focus much more on our Dutch language and propagate our values and standards,” says the N-VA leader, who himself comes from Burkina Faso. ‘Integration not only strengthens our Vilvoorde community, but also creates opportunities for newcomers themselves, both socially and on the labor market.’
De Vilvoorde also focuses on safety. For example, she wants to invest more in the police force and advocates the introduction of a fringe bonus for police officers. “This makes wages competitive with those of Brussels agents, who receive a bilingualism bonus,” says Kanko. ‘The socialists have been investing too little in our police force for years. Now that the federal Vivaldi friends of the city council have abolished the Canal Plan, the malaise is complete.’
Kanko also has the ambition to take more measures to attract investments and wants to show ‘more respect’ for the citizens of Vilvoorde. She refers, among other things, to a petition against the new circulation plan in Koningslo, which was signed by about a thousand residents.
In the 2018 municipal elections, the N-VA won 12.4 percent of the votes in Vilvoorde, good for four of the 35 seats. The party was thus referred to the opposition benches.