Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor, Athol Trollip, said that the decision by General Motors to pull out of Nelson Mandela Bay was an "unexpected blow" to the local economy.
Speaking at Friday's Council meeting where Nelson Mandela Bay's Integrated Development Plan and R11bn budget was adopted, Trollip said that his administration remains committed and more determined to working with both domestic and international investment partners to atrract more investment to the city.
"It was unexpected blow to our economy, to the people who will be affected by the job losses, their families and extended families. "Thus, we remain committed and more determined to working with both domestic and international investment partners to continue strengthening our established relations with various stakeholders and doing everything in our power to attract more investment into the City," said Trollip.
He said that Nelson Mandela Bay had shown shown resilience "throughout these difficult times", while also acknowledging "the visible achievements dotted around the city which serve as evidence of our capability as a city".
"Among many the Coega Development Corporation, in our IDZ, and the role that it plays in both our social and economic spheres, remains a tangible example of what you can achieve when you have a solid plan in place backed by a strong vision," Trollip said.
"I would like to tell the people in the Chamber that might not know that when the Coega IDZ was mooted, there was opposition among many people, including the political party that I come from. But, in the Eastern Cape we said that if the government was going to build a deep water port anywhere along the shores of South Africa we want it to be built here. So, we've been in support of the IDZ since its very inception even when it brought us into conflict with our own political party," said Trollip.
"We also remain mindful of the anchor role that industries such as the automotive sector continue to play in the development of the city through job creation. The automotive industry, including downstream industries, is probably the key anchor tenant. But, the amazing thing about a city that is growing and booming is that we start to diversify our economic backbone," he said.
Trollip said high unemployment remains a monumental challenge for Nelson Mandela Bay as one of our key "deliverables "of this new administration and we've made visible strides in addressing unemployment since we have assumed office nine months ago as is shown by the two percent reduction in the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2016.
"This was the result of 4000 new job opportunities that were created, which translated to a 2.2%. Stats South Africa's quarterly labour force survey showed that Nelson Mandela Bay's unemployment rate dropped from 31.8% to 29.6%. This occurred against the backdrop of a gradual increase in unemployment in the Eastern Cape Province and against the backdrop of a sovereign downgrade," Trollip said.
The executive mayor said that "for all the people who dispel the possibility of this administration creating 30 000 jobs in the next four years, think about the significance of creating 4000 jobs in less than nine months against that economic backdrop".
"If you believe, you can achieve," Trollip said.
