The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has called for stability and collaboration among stakeholders in the Metro as it continues to operate in a coalition environment in local government.
The Chamber said the impact of unreliable services and political instability has been worsened by the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
CEO, Denise van Huyssteen, said the benefits of a gradual recovery from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic forecast for next year will be lost if Nelson Mandela Bay cannot offer business a stable operating environment with reliable basic services.
In a detailed statement looking back at the year in business, Van Huysteen called for increased collaboration amongst stakeholders in 2022, to work together in solving the challenges facing the city, and a focus by local government on service delivery, stability, and getting the basics working.
“Unemployment in the Bay increased to over 40% in the third quarter of 2021, while the municipality’s Trade and Investment division estimates that the real (inflation-adjusted) GDP of the metro declined by 8% in 2020, down to the level of a decade ago.”
“Although it is positive that slight annual increases in GDP are forecast for 2021 onwards, with a return to 2013 levels of production in the Bay by 2023, there is still much to be done to achieve the stable operating environment that will enable business to reap the benefits of an economic upturn,” she said.
Van Huysteen said the operating environment for business was likely the toughest ever this year, with the impact of the drought and water leaks on the security of water supply, electricity outages due to load shedding, aging infrastructure, and vandalism and cable theft.
“This led to sharp increases in the costs of doing business in the city as business had to install their own solutions to address shortfalls in the basic infrastructure and services needed to keep their operations running,” she said.
The Chamber CEO appealed to the role players in the new coalition administration to prioritise stability.
“Council resolutions need to be passed timeously, requirements must be met in terms of passing budgets and there must be a focus on taking action to get the basics such as security and cleanliness right and achieve reliable, consistent delivery of services,” Van Huyssteen said.
