Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Athol Trollip, says he is pleased with the progress his administration has made in his first 100 days in office.
Trollip gave a broad overview of his office report at a media briefing at Port Elizabeth City Hall today.
He said he would have been happier had he achieved all of his set targets, including the re-opening of the Red Location Museum
Trollip said the public will have to evaluate work done by his administration.
Read Full statement here;
100 Days In Office: Paying tribute to the legacy of Madiba by building a city founded on freedom, fairness and opportunity for all
On this day, 3 years ago, our nation’s founding father, Nelson Mandela, died. Today we recognise the South Africa he dreamt of by presenting our achievements over the last 100 days. We are turning this City into a place that Madiba would have been proud of and thank the residents of the Bay for their ongoing support and encouragement.
They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and indeed the same applies to our beautiful city of Nelson Mandela Bay.
After the DA-led coalition government took office, the work began to turn a Metro around that had for years been plagued by incompetent governance, corruption, poor service delivery and unemployment.
Rebuilding a city takes time, concerted effort, integrity and determination.
The people of this Metro delivered a strong message to the outgoing government on the 3rd August 2016: “You disappointed us, you let us down and now we want change.”
Well, change is what the people of the Bay got and will continue to get.
Change that finally ushers in an era of freedom, fairness and opportunity for all.
Change that will see better services delivered, economic growth that creates jobs and the end of corruption.
This certainly wasn’t going to happen in a day, but in 100 days we have seen massive transformation that bodes well for the future of our Municipality, as foundations are laid for a better future for all.
Our mission to stop corruption has been strengthened with the launch of an anti-corruption hotline, which was already resulted in 38 internal investigations. Municipal staff and residents have clearly taken this service into their confidence, considering that complainants’ information is kept confidential and information is immediately acted on.
Political will is what drives change and this new government has made it clear that corruption in Nelson Mandela Bay will not be tolerated, and that those found guilty of corrupt dealings will face the full might of the law.
Recent suspensions and dismissals of numerous senior municipal officials, in the face of scathing evidence, is testament to this government’s strong position on corruption and fraud.
Furthermore, transparency and accountability are crucial to stamping out corruption, which is precisely why we have opened up Mayoral Committee Meetings to the public and media. Every decision made by this senior committee can be scrutinised by our customers and we are willing to be held accountable for the decisions we make.
Financial deviations, meant only for absolute emergency situations, became the hallmark of our predecessors, with hundreds of thousands of Rand spent outside the parameters of the Municipality’s budget. This can only be attributed to poor planning and an incomplete ID. I made a commitment when we took office that this government would not use deviations as a matter of course, and that proper planning would be the order of the day. This change has already seen a huge reduction in the number of deviations approved by this administration.
Uitenhage, Despatch and KwaNobuhle, previously considered the step siblings of Port Elizabeth, have received my personal attention since taking office. I committed to spending a full day in these towns every second week, and this is exactly what I’ve done. Since taking office, I have spent at least 5 full days working out of the Uitenhage Town Hall, conducting oversight of municipal facilities, visiting businesses and schools, engaging with residents and monitoring service delivery projects. As a result, I am proud to announce that over the last 8 weeks, in Uitenhage, Despatch and KwaNobuhle, 2500 water leaks have been fixed in these communities, 29 families have received title deeds to their homes and 3 main roads have been resurfaced.
With a specific focus on directorates, the following important achievements are in place after this DA-led coalition government got down to work from the first day in office.
In the Directorate of Roads and Transport, we have seen an immense scale of work done on many roads right across the Metro. Traffic lights, road markings and streetlights are maintained regularly and our roadways are already in a much better state.
While we have successfully delivered on our Roads and Transport promises, we have gone above and beyond by also surfacing 10 gravel roads, most of which are in township communities and are due to be complete by the 9th December 2016. Furthermore we have signed off a R15 million road upgrade project in Walmer Township, due to start in 2017, and have rehabilitated a storm water pond in KwaNobuhle so that it now also serves as a recreational space.
In terms of the IPTS project, we have closed all IPTS lanes with large bollards to prevent illegal traffic flow until we go live with the system in June 2017. We have secured budget of R629 million between now and the 2018/19 financial year, by which time we will have three trunk routes in operation between Cleary Park and the CBD, Uitenhage and the CBD, and Njoli and the CBD.
Furthermore, we launched a bursary programme worth approximately R30 million that will see 1800 residents engage in learnerships across the transport sector; air, land and sea. Skills development is a crucial part of our commitment to grow the economy and provide opportunities to Bay residents.
In Budget and Treasury, we have exceeded our savings target by a massive R100 million. Having secured savings of approximately R200 million in the last 100 days, we are now well placed to channel this money towards improving service delivery and growing the economy to create jobs.
In Corporate Services, a great deal of work has been undertaken towards dealing with disciplinary matters and restructuring the Macro Organogram. The latter is a massive task which requires extensive engagement with all stakeholders, including Unions.
Having previously committed to reducing the number of acting positions, our focus on expediting disciplinary proceedings means that we are very near to having a complete set of full-time executive directors. Furthermore, we have rolled out a qualifications audit for all senior managers to ensure the legitimacy of their qualifications, which will be closely followed by a skills audit.
In Infrastructure and Engineering, we are hard at work to ensure that our infrastructure is maintained through the filling of vacancies, skills development and unit capacity. Two of our major concerns are the number of water leaks in the Metro and the extent of the bucket toilet crisis, both of which are receiving our undivided attention.
In addition to the achievements mentioned above, the Municipality has focused on dealing with a number of leaks in Uitenhage and Despatch over the last 8 weeks. 2500 leaks have been fixed, or around 90% of those reported. This is a particularly outstanding achievement, which we aim to replicate across the Metro.
In the Directorate of Safety and Security, we have made enormous headway. Our initial focus was to revamp the Metro Police Force that was entirely broken under our predecessors, and focus on policing by-laws and improving law enforcement in general.
Safety and Security has received a significant boost since this new government took office, with at least 3 roadblocks taking place every week, numerous fines and warrants being issued and unroadworthy cars being impounded. Road and community safety is of critical importance and remains a priority for this administration.
In Human Settlements, we are still working towards reclaiming the responsibility of building houses from the National Department of Human Settlements. Sadly, under our predecessors the housing list became an absolute shambles. We are working towards cleaning this list up so that we can make it reliable, publicly available and easily accessible.
While our hands are somewhat tied by the involvement of the National Department of Human Settlements, we are still proceeding with the distribution of title deeds to rightful owners. Just last week we handed out 29 title deeds to delighted families in Tiryville, Uitenhage, and there are t least another 500 title deeds that will be distributed in due course.
Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture remains an important directorate for recognising heroes, encouraging social cohesion and developing healthy communities. We remain committed to opening the Red Location Museum, having engaged with the community on 3 separate occasions. Furthermore, we will continue to attract major sporting events to our City, while proudly acknowledging many sporting and cultural heroes from every corner of the Bay.
Our City has enormous sports-tourism potential having recently won the bid to host the 2018 Ironman Championship and various other sporting events. Along with our 3 blue flag beaches, warm ocean water and spectacular climate, Nelson Mandela Bay is quickly becoming the country’s hotspot for nature- and sport-loving visitors.
In Public Health, we worked tirelessly to grow our litter picking and bush cutting capacity, while ensuring that every single ward is serviced with refuse collection. This City used to win awards for cleanliness, but when we took office those days had long since gone. Our mission is to bring these awards back to our shores, through focused and extensive clean up campaigns.
Constituency Services are crucial to keeping government close to its people, which is why our process of creating ward committees is being carefully managed to ensure fairness and freedom for all. Previously, ward committees were misused for political gain and not for the benefit of residents– those days are over. Public participation will begin within the next few weeks so that ward committees can be elected that truly represent all communities.
In Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, work is underway to rationalise all municipal entities to ensure efficiency and delivery. An economic advisory council, made up of key industry specialists selected by myself, is in the process of being formed to advise the administration on all matters relating to economic development and tourism growth.
I have always committed to being honest with the residents of this Metro, and as such it is important to note that there is still work to do on some items outlined in my 100 day speech. However, we come close to a perfect score. Obstacles and challenges are part of the work that we do and as long as we can overcome them, be self-reflective in the work we do, while continuing to move forward, this City will go from strength to strength.
I am humbled by the work ethic and dedication of my Mayoral Committee Members, the City Manager, Municipal Staff and volunteers. The progress we have made in this short space of time is truly remarkable and if in 3 months we have can achieve this then in 5 years our City will be transformed.
More importantly, to the residents of the Bay who have stood by us, through some trying times, thank you for the ongoing backing and encouragement.
We are building one City, with one future, where freedom, fairness and opportunity exist for all. This will take time, but it will be done.
Supplied by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
