One of the first-time candidates for Estevan City Council in the upcoming civic election hopes to see upgrades to Estevan's infrastructure move forward.

Mohammad R. Waseem filed his nomination papers on September 18. Waseem is a relative newcomer to the community, as he moved to Estevan from southern Ontario about three years ago.

He said he has enjoyed his experiences in the community, but there are some challenges that he believes need to be addressed.

Waseem would like to see improvements to the roads and the sidewalks in Estevan.

"When people enter the city, they cannot drive properly on the road," he said.

He lamented that, on occasion, crews will repair a road, but two months later, the road will once again be in shabby condition.

Sidewalks and roads in front schools are in poor shape, he said. Children can't ride their bicycles on sidewalks because the sidewalks are broken.

Waseem questioned if the community has proper management, or if contractors have received proper training. Street lines are being painted at 9 a.m., when motorists are on their way to work or school. He believes that the work should be tackled earlier in the morning.

"I think there should be a chain (of command) in this city," said Waseem. "The people that are already there, they've been sitting there for a long time, and there should be new people."

St. Joseph's Hospital also needs more physicians, and additional services, to reduce the number of people who are forced to travel to Regina for medical treatments and services.

He'd also like to see additional programs in place to teach English as Another Language to people who are coming to Estevan from other countries; and continued efforts with city beautification to improve the appearance of Estevan, so that people will want to remain in the city for the long-term.

Waseem is the owner/operator of Fas Gas in Estevan. He has an MBA in marketing, and a master's degree in political science.