In an unprecedented move, organised business in Nelson Mandela Bay and civil society organisations, have laid the blame for the paralysis inflicting the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, squarely at the door of the ANC-led Council.
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber president, Mandla Madwara, today presented a joint statement to a Council meeting today, where an appeal was made to normalise the political situation in the Metro.
The appeal follows the widely reported spat between executive mayor, Benson Fihla and newly appointed municipal manager, Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela and the effective paralysis of the city administration which Madwara says is negatively impacting on business.
Yesterday, municipal workers brought the city administration to a standstill over a dispute over the service conditions of low-level employees.
On Monday, the Chamber, supported by Cosatu, civic body Sangoco and the Nelson Mandela Bay Ratepayers Association will shed more light on joint actions they plan to take.
Read the full presentation to Council below:
We are ordinary people doing an extraordinary thing today. Our strength to stand here is drawn from the ordinary men, women and children, who go about their business with honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism on a daily basis.
It is a reminder to us as elected representatives of civil and business organisations that, like you, we all have a responsibility for what is right and required of us. Greatness in the time of adversity is drawn from ordinary men, women and children doing extraordinary things, even when they may seem unpopular.
Today (Friday), the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, the South African NGO Coalition (Sangoco), the Ratepayers Association of Nelson Mandela Bay, and Cosatu stand as a collective representing civil society to register our concern about the current state of affairs in Nelson Mandela Bay.
As ratepayers and as contributors to the city, we hold the city council accountable for the issues at hand, which have impacted heavily on business, the city and its citizens. As council, the implied agreement is that responsibility for the smooth, effective, efficient and sustainable running of this Metro is taken on – as a collective, civil society therefore holds council responsible for the problematic situation Nelson Mandela Bay currently finds itself in, and is accountable to the citizens of the Metro.
Business and civil society have suffered jointly for three years from the crippling effects of the situation in our Metro.
We stand here jointly today to declare that the current state of affairs in Nelson Mandela Bay is untenable. Our common ground is the need for stability in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, and an uncompromising belief in the importance of good governance with strong and effective leadership.
There is an absolute need for institutional stability and for good governance to prevail to ensure sustainable service delivery to every citizen in this Metro, and advocate for a model of genuine co-operation and solidly structured partnership between business, civil society, and municipal and local government.
The current environment in Nelson Mandela Bay is not conducive to the sustainable operation of business. Currently, businesses in Nelson Mandela Bay come up against a number of obstacles:
They face extreme delays in re-zoning, as well as in applications for developments, as the relevant portfolio committees are not meeting regularly. The procurement system in the Metro is perceived to be entirely corrupted, and nothing this collective has seen has done anything to dispel the perception that there is manipulation of the system. Business’s experience of the bureaucracy at play does nothing to expedite the effective applications through municipal structures.
We are concerned that there is no over-arching vision for the city, to move Nelson Mandela Bay towards a long-term vision, beyond Vision 2020.
It is alarming that the IDP and Budget were not given a proper consultation process with business. While business has been given a measure of consultation, what was given is not enough.
Proper and thorough budget consultation is required to enable the city to support and plan collectively for vibrant and sustainable business. High energy users in this city have been placed in a life or death situation, as they weigh up the immense burdens placed on them. This city cannot afford to lose these companies – not in terms of the jobs they provide to the people of this Metro, and certainly not in terms of the revenue they generate from utilities.
Executive directors in all departments in the city have vanished, and the acting managers in their place are not empowered to make the decisions necessary to ensure the effective running of their respective departments at the level of a world class city.
As business, we no longer know who we can count on – there is no longer a champion for business in this Metro, on whose word and delivery we can rely. This is the statement of the top CEO of a multi-national company, a business leader in this city.
At the centre of all of this is the City Manager. Her treatment is a symptom of the problems laid out before you today. We defend not only the City Manager, but the entire city.
As business, we know our rights, as enshrined in the constitution. We are ready and willing to pursue them as per the Municipal Structures Act. We would prefer not to be compelled to do so.
The lack of cohesion in the city has taken a heavy toll on the ordinary citizens of this Metro. Service delivery is at best poor, and in other areas non-existent. The citizens of this Metro are forced to endure the bucket-system, sub-stations blowing up, poor water quality, badly serviced infrastructure, a lack of lighting and a lack of safety and crumbling public amenities.
We have had enough of the lack of delivery to our communities that are in need of the most basic services, as a result of an absence of leadership in the form of a City Manager and the requisite Executive Directors. We have had enough of an administration that lacks leadership at all levels, as this hampers delivery and the functions of a local government which needs to meet its legal obligation.
We come here today to remind you that as elected officials you have accepted the trust placed in you by the people. Our city is at a crossroads. We need to take the road less travelled, recognising that we have failed in the trust the people have placed in us.
This road less travelled calls for
*decisive, strong and effective leadership,
*institutional stability
*good governance
*separation of fiduciary duties as outlined in the MMFA
*that will ensure sustainable service delivery
We now have a strong City Manager. Someone with the competency to deal with these legislative requirements as set out in the MMFA, we find our city fathers at loggerheads with an individual who wants to do her job. The position of the City Manager should be secure, and she should be provided with the support she requires by council, within the bounds of law.
She was unanimously appointed by council, and we call on you to support her to ensure she fulfills her role successfully, to take this city to its rightful place as a world-class city, in line with the iconic name of Nelson Mandela.
The opportunity costs to the city cannot be quantified ¡V local investors do not want to invest further, and international investors are discouraged by a lack of stability, utilities, a lack of security of supply and the uncompetitive pricing thereof, and crumbling infrastructure.
We advocate a formal, structured engagement arrangement. The door has been opened on the part of the Business Chamber, as it has invited the City Manager to sit as a guest on its board.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we are reminded of the ordinary men, women and children of this city that look upon you to bring back dignity, honour and hope to our great city. We are ordinary men and women here today, doing an extraordinary thing for our children.
