Nelson Mandela Bay Metro said it would be saving tens of millions rands over the next five years by "trimming" its top bureaucracy.
Mayoral spokesperson, Sibongile Dimbaza, said Monday that the Municipality would save between R40m and R50m over this time by cutting unfilled but funded posts in the offices of the Executive Mayor and Deputy Mayor as well as the offices of the Chief Whip and Speaker.
"The collective number of staff has reduced from 93 to 45 in the offices of the Executive Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Chief Whip and Speaker. These political offices were allowed to expand and bloat rapidly under our predecessors as part of a cadre deployment project that sought to enrich a select few at the expense of the poorest of the poor. Those days are now over as we move towards an era of freedom, fairness and opportunity for all," said Dimbaza.
"We are working daily to ensure that this administration is lean, efficient and economical, so that we can avoid unnecessary expenditure, spend money wisely and improve service delivery.
All 45 cut posts were either political appointments under the previous administration or were vacant when we took office. These positions were for assistants, secretaries, coordinators, researchers, drivers and protections officers, among others."
"The Chief Whip's office has reduced in size from 13 to 4, saving R2.7 million per year. In the office of Mayoral Chief of Staff Kristoff Adelbert, the posts have been reduced from 43 to 22, saving well over R3 million per year," Dimbaza added.
"Had all these positions been filled, this would have cost taxpayers millions of rand per year, reducing available funding for service delivery and economic growth projects.
"As the new government in the Bay, we are fully committed to re-positioning the metro to become more responsive to service delivery needs and to ensure sustainability through efficient and effective revenue collection methods," he said.
"Our mission is to take this Metro forward, which means ensuring that public money is spent on improving service delivery for all residents."
