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Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Gary van Niekerk has poured cold water over reports that the municipality is set to lose more than half a billion rand in grant funding.
The mayor was speaking during a council meeting on Tuesday where the city’s budget was also tabled, saying the reports were "much ado about nothing."
In his address, he said that on the same day that the story emerged, he had a meeting with National Treasury officials who said that the letter sent to the City warning that it stands to lose the grant money, was part of a routine process.
Van Niekerk said the Treasury officials also raised concern about the letter being leaked to the media.
“Last year we received the same letter. We responded and no funds were withheld. It is clear that the intention behind the leak was to create public distrust and to influence potential voters.
“I’d like to assure the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality that no grant funding will be lost due to underspending,” the Mayor said.
However, the caucus leader of the official opposition, Retief Odendaal disagreed, saying that it is a “mathematical certainty” that the City will lose some of the grant funding as in some cases not even 25% of the money had been spent.
“With the greatest of respect to the Mayor, he has to be a little bit more clear about what plans are going to be put in place to hold on to certain grant funding,” Odendaal said.
Meanwhile, in a wide-ranging speech, Van Niekerk, that he and the mayoral committee had identified several “legacy projects that the government of local unity would like to see come to fruition.”
“These projects will set this administration apart,” he said.
Van Niekerk said he is in the process of establishing a “special programme’s unit” in his office to ensure that the implementation of these projects is constantly monitored and evaluated.
He said they were aiming for a solutions-driven approach for these projects, which include the development of video surveillance systems and a top-notch control room.
“We are now focussing all our efforts on becoming the city with the most surveillance cameras per square km in this country,” he said.
Another legacy project that he highlighted was the reopening of the fresh produce market in Kariega while tasking the Infrastructure and Engineering Directorate to secure all of the city assets to provide the basic services enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
Van Niekerk said the legacy projects do not intend to take the focus away from their other daily priorities.
