Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor, Benson Fihla, has called on councillors and senior municipal managers to rally behind and commit to government's Back to Basics Strategy.
The strategy was adopted to improve efficiency, accountability and delivery at local government level.
Fihla made the call in an address to a workshop on the Back to Basics Strategy held at the Wool Exchange building on Monday.
He said the Strategy will ensure that in every municipality traffic lights are working, potholes are filled, water is delivered, refuse is collected, electricity is supplied, and refuse and waste management takes place.
"It is not right when our Councillors are not known to their own constituencies. It can never be right when officials do as they please, and lack accountability and passion to serve the people. The Back to Basics workshop has reminded us why we are here and of our responsibility to deliver, no matter what the difficulties. It has reminded us that if we can master the basic thing that we see as small, it will be a starting point for the Municipality to deliver services efficiently, on time and of a good quality." said Fihla.
But, while the workshop was underway inside the Chamber where Council meetings are held, Metro traffic officers involved in a long running overtime pay dispute with the Municipality held a noisy protest outside.
They parked their vehicles in the streets with their sirens blaring disrupting traffic flow and business in the area because of the noise.
A delegation were later locked in a meeting with Municipal officials on Monday afternoon.
According to Lee Nangu, an SA Municipal Workers Union shop steward, the money owed to them will be paid by the 25th of next month, if Council approves the proposal.
Meanwhile, Municipality spokesperson, Roland Williams says the matter is receiving priority and everything is being done to ensure that its dealt with speedily and compliance requirements are adhered to.
Still with the Metro Municipal matters, DA MP, Kevin Mileham, says he's written to the Auditor-General calling for an urgent forensic investigation into the R744 million in unauthorised expenditure incurred by the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in the 2013/2014 financial year.
He says last year, A-G Kimi Makwethu gave the Metro a qualified opinion, stating that the R744 million may not be the full unauthorised expenditure incurred.
Mileham says a forensic audit must now be carried out to obtain the full figure of unauthorised expenditure.
However, he says the DA is concerned that Mayor Fihla has, through a report tabled in a special council meeting in January, sought approval to write-off the unauthorised expenditure.
"The DA has and will continue to oppose any attempts by the NMB council to cover up financial mismanagement by moving to write-off this expenditure." says Mileham.
