COUNCIL MEETING OF TUESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2012: EXECUTIVE MAYOR’S
BRIEFING NOTES
Speaker: Cllr Maria Hermans
Deputy Executive Mayor: Cllr Nancy Sihlwayi
Chief Whip: Cllr Feziwe Sibeko
Mayoral Committee Members
Leaders of opposition parties
Fellow Councillors
Superintendent General of LGTA: Mr Stanley Khanyile
Officials from both the Municipality & LGTA
Members of the public in attendance
Our friends from the media
Good morning
Thank you Speaker for the opportunity. On Thursday last week the city
experienced a near catastrophe when two pipelines, supplying a third of the city’s
water needs collapsed. This, understandably so, caused panic throughout the
city as everyone contemplated the dire effects this could on households,
businesses, hospitals, to name but a few. However thanks to the pro-activeness
and the enterprising spirit of our workers, disaster was averted. It is now common
cause that one of the pipelines has been fixed and this will help normalize water
supply. We would like to thank municipal workers as well contractors that worked
tirelessly to have water supply restored at record time. Whilst this is the case, the
work is not done yet as teams are still hard at work to fix the second pipeline. We
would therefore like to appeal to residents and businesses to continue to use
water judiciously until all work is completed.
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Fellow Councillors, yesterday marked the 22nd anniversary of the Northern Areas
uprising which lead to 48 people laying down their lives. Events like this must
always serve as a stark reminder of our past as should be spare us on to
continue to strive for a better life for all.
Hounarable Speaker, last week we were visited by the Office of the AuditorGeneral. During his address to this house he pointed out a number of things we
should strive for, if we are to achieve a clean administration. I therefore challenge
both Councillors and officials of the Municipality to commit themselves to working
tirelessly for the creation of a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient
system of Local Government. Fellow Councillors, Post the 2011 local
government elections this Council we committed ourselves to a number of
priorities and these included the following:
Access to better quality basic services, creating integrated and sustainable
human settlements. upgrading of informal settlements, infrastructural
development and maintenance, formulating a comprehensive Local Economic
Development, develop cooperative agreements with state-owned enterprises
with the view to forming partnerships to facilitate economic development,
prioritizing revenue enhancement strategies to maximize revenue collection to
fund Council priorities, ensuring financial viability and management, promoting
integration and alignment with other spheres of government to give effect to the
model of cooperative governance as envisaged by the statutes, reviewing
institutional arrangements to ascertain their relevance to the core business of the
Municipality, building effective, accountable and clean government, strengthening
community participation through a functional and fully resourced Ward
Committee system as well as building social cohesion through sports
development as well as through hosting major sporting events which have the
potential to unite different communities.
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This is the work that must occupy us not petty politicking, as elected
representatives, we should introspect and ask our selves if we are being genuine
to the people that voted for us. To what extent are we working towards the
attainment of these plausible objectives? Fellow Councillors, the time is now to
rid ourselves of pettiness and political bickering and rather concentrate on the
task of promoting a better life for our communities, they deserve nothing less.
Lastly, August is Women month; I would like to wish all women a happy
Women’s month. The struggle for complete emancipation of our womenfolk
continues and as the Municipality we commit ourselves to working tirelessly
towards the attainment of this noble objective.
I thank you.
Councillor Zanoxolo Wayile
Executive Mayor
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
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