EXECUTIVE MAYOR’S SPEECH TO COUNCIL
31 JANUARY 2012
2010/11 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2011/12 MID-TERM REPORT
Speaker
Deputy Executive Mayor
Mayoral Committee Members
Chief Whip
Councillors
Senior Municipal Officials
Members of the Media
Members of the Public
Ladies and gentlemen
Honourable Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. The 2010/2011 Annual
Report and the 2011/2012 Mid-term Report reflect tangible progress made by
the institution in the delivery of services. Notwithstanding the progress made,
the institution also experienced challenges.
As we acknowledge our
achievements, let us resolve to harness our collective energy and efforts to
address these challenges in order to create a better life for all our residents
and visitors.
Honourable Speaker, with your indulgence, I wish to dedicate the progress the
institution has made to the memory of our Councillors and officials who
passed away during the review period. Special mention is reserved for
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Councillors’ Gumenge, Lose and Ngqondi, who so tragically lost their lives
recently.
The year 2012 marks the 100th year since the formation of the African
National Congress. Since coming into power in 1994, the African National
Congress has done a lot to improve the general welfare of the masses of our
people and this needs to be acknowledged, applauded and celebrated. Whilst
doing so, we must acknowledge that a lot still needs to be done to effectively
deal with the challenges of unemployment, poverty and social inequality as
was highlighted by President Jacob Zuma in his January 8 statement.
Fellow Councillors, we do not operate in a vacuum but in a global context.
We are part of an ever-changing world and are inevitably affected by the
developments that play themselves out on the world stage. The Euro zone
debt crisis, the political instability in the Arabic world and climate change
issues all affect us. We need to become more vigilant in our planning, to
mitigate the potential impact of these events.
Honourable Speaker, the documents I am tabling today were prepared not
only as a matter of legislative compliance, but also to report back to the
communities of Nelson Mandela Bay if their Municipality is delivering on its
mandate.
Fellow Councillors, as alluded to earlier, the review period has been
characterized by successes and positive developments, as well as some
challenges. Allow me to highlight the successes:
The unqualified audit report the Municipality has received for the fourth
successive year confirms the great strides being made in improving
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governance and legislative compliance and financial management and
discipline. A cause for concern, however, is the matters of emphasis and
repeat findings raised by the Auditor-General.
To eliminate these, the
Municipality is developing a comprehensive action plan. Over the next six
months, efforts will be concentrated on removing all repeat findings and
matters of emphasis, thereby enabling the Municipality to meet Government’s
target as envisaged in Operation Clean Audit 2014.
We have already addressed the concerns expressed by the Auditor-General
around Supply Chain Management processes by reviewing the Supply
Chain Management Policy, in line with National Treasury’s Supply Chain
Management Framework, to ensure clean, transparent and credible supply
chain management processes. We have also reconstituted our Supply Chain
Bid Committees in an effort to promote efficiency and effectiveness.
Honourable Speaker, we have made great strides in stabilising and
strengthening the Municipality’s administration, in partnership with the
Provincial MEC Mr Mlibo Qoboshiyane and the Department of Local
Government and Traditional Affairs.
Fellow Councillors, the stabilisation of our administration has had a positive
effect on service delivery, to the betterment of our communities. We are
greatly encouraged by the success of the War Room on Service Delivery,
which provides the public with quicker and more effective responses to
enquiries and complaints.
Good progress has been made in the delivery of basic services. Altogether
100% of our communities now enjoy universal access to potable water within
a 200 m radius, with the exception of some smallholdings and farms.
A
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feather in our cap was the Blue Drop Status award from the Department of
Water Affairs, confirming that our water is of good quality.
We are also
working hard to reduce water leakages by replacing obsolete and substandard infrastructure.
Similarly, 100% of households on built land demarcated by the Municipality for
residential purposes are connected to electricity. To make Nelson Mandela
Bay a greener city, we are implementing a number of renewable energy
initiatives focusing on solar heating, wind energy and methane gas harvesting
from solid waste. Specifically, good progress was made with the roll-out of
our massive solar water geyser project.
Fellow Councillors, the Municipality recognises that efficient and effective
service delivery is linked to optimal institutional performance and continues to
make great strides in entrenching a culture of performance management in
the institution. In this regard, a new Performance Management Policy and
Application Manual have been developed. In addition, the performance of all
Executive Directors was assessed and the resultant report was presented to
Council.
Good progress is being made with cascading performance
management down to lower levels of staff in the institution.
The performance and capacitation of our Councillors is vitally important to
government and the ruling party. In this regard, the Municipality, through the
Office of the Speaker, has introduced capacity building programmes in
municipal governance and will be rolling out performance plans for
Councillors, commencing with the Executive Political Leadership.
We are
sadly reminded of the fact that it was on the way back from lectures at the
East London Campus of the University of Fort Hare that the fatal accident
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occurred in which Councillors’ Gumenge, Lose and Ngqondi met their
untimely death.
Honourable Speaker, our service delivery performance is closely tied to
sound financial management and discipline within the institution. Through
the implementation of the financial recovery plan and the operational
efficiency plan, we have managed to place the institution on a sound financial
footing and are now on the road to recovery.
To support our financial
recovery, it was vital that we improve our average revenue collection rate.
This we managed to do, recording an average rate of 96,73%, against the
target of 93,75% as at 31 December 2011. However, we are mindful of the
need to be frugal and conservative in our financial approach.
Fellow Councillors, we are very proud of our Expanded Public Works
Programme, scooping as we did a national award for implementing the best
cooperative in the country. In addition, over the period July 2010 to June
2011, 3 319 full-time equivalent jobs and 16 130 work opportunities were
created through EPWP. The EPWP Incentives Grant of R2,029 million
received from the National Department of Public Works was most
encouraging and will enable us to continue addressing the challenges of
poverty and unemployment in our society.
Honourable Speaker, we are greatly encouraged by the success of our War
on Hunger campaign, in terms of which 5 900 residents from underprivileged
areas receive a nutritious meal a day. The campaign will be expanded to
additional Wards in the remainder of the current financial year.
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A proven way to create jobs and attract and retain business, is the
rejuvenation of inner city areas and developing areas that are in decline. In
Nelson Mandela Bay, our inner-city rejuvenation programme saw the
completion of phase 1 of the Strand Street, Donkin Reserve and Uitenhage
Market Square upgrading, complete with new street design, layout and public
art. The Mandela Bay Development Agency will also expand its activities to
include the upgrading of township areas so as to promote tourism and job
creation.
Honourable Speaker, the Eastern Cape is rich in history and heritage. The
Municipality is committed to preserving this wonderful heritage and legacy. It
is for this reason that, last year, we unveiled the Cradock Four Heritage
Memorial in honour of four brave comrades who paid the ultimate price so that
we can be free.
Fellow Councillors, the period under review undeniably posed some difficult
challenges to the institution, forcing us to respond with strong, focused
interventions.
In retrospect, possibly the biggest challenge we faced was the crisis
drought, which threatened sustainable water supply to our communities. The
Municipality responded to this challenge by introducing water conservation
and stringent water restriction measures for both residents and business
owners.
Thankfully, in mid 2011, we were blessed with abundant rains,
alleviating the crisis. We must accept that we are a water scarce area and
hence the Municipality has prioritised the long-term sustainable supply of
water through, inter alia, the completion of the Nooitgedacht low level scheme.
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Honourable Speaker, creating integrated sustainable human settlements is
possibly the biggest challenge facing this institution. Insufficient funding is the
main impediment to our progress. To deal with this multi-faceted challenge,
the Municipality will develop a comprehensive and targeted strategy and
action plan, for Council’s consideration. In addition, we believe that achieving
Level 3 Accreditation as housing developer will capacitate the institution to
further accelerate the provision of housing.
Honourable
Speaker,
the
creation
of
integrated
sustainable
human
settlements involves much more than simply building houses. It involves the
assurance of healthy and dignified conditions for our communities. Illegal
dumping robs our communities of this basic right. Planned initiatives to deal
with the problem of illegal dumping include increasing the frequency of refuse
collection in low-income areas; effective law-enforcement through increased
CCTV surveillance and additional rangers; and expanded anti-litter awareness
campaigns.
Furthermore, the institution intends drawing lessons from
initiatives recently showcased at COP17 in Durban, which focused on waste
avoidance, minimisation, and recycling. These initiatives will find expression
in our second generation Integrated Waste Management Plan, which is
currently being developed.
Fellow Councillors, another key component of integrated sustainable human
settlements
is
easy,
safe,
reliable
and
affordable
public transport.
Unfortunately the roll out of our Integrated Public Transport System has not
progressed as planned. Our 2010 FIFA World Cup buses are standing idle.
This is unacceptable and to turn the situation around, strong interventions are
being
introduced,
including
strengthening
project
management,
and
organisational and human resources capacity in the Infrastructure and
Engineering Directorate.
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Honourable Speaker, the Municipality recognises the role of Ward
Committees in enhancing participatory local governance and development.
We are hugely concerned by the lack of a functional Ward Committee System,
which deprives our communities of their right to participate meaningfully in
local government planning and decision-making processes. To attend to this
challenge, a Policy on the establishment and functioning of Ward Committees
in Nelson Mandela Bay has been developed, and Ward Committee elections
are scheduled to take place during the current financial year. Highlighting the
importance the institution attaches to vibrant public participation processes
and the deepening of democracy, the Speaker will assume a central and
instrumental role to ensure the smooth and effective functioning of Ward
Committees, working hand in hand with relevant Mayoral Committee
members, Councillors and officials.
Fellow Councillors, the Municipality is committed to providing a safe and
secure environment for residents and visitors of Nelson Mandela Bay. Our
society is still riddled with crime, gangsterism and vigilantism, and this cannot
be tolerated.
The Municipality is committed to a multi-pronged and
collaborative approach in dealing with the problem, and will continue to work
closely with our communities, the South African Police Services, other law
enforcement agencies, the religious fraternity as well as the local business
sector and organs of civil society. The Municipality also intends to adopt a
more robust approach in by-law enforcement and is extending CCTV
surveillance to known crime hotspots and areas of high contravention in
Nelson Mandela Bay.
Fellow Councillors, officials, members of the public, when we reflect on our
achievements and the challenges that we faced in the review period, the
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crystal clear message to all of us is that we will not be able to fulfil our
mandate to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay if we do not work together, in
unity, rallying our collective energies, talents, skills, to transform the institution
and promote growth and development in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Honourable Speaker, looking forward, we need to focus on the key strategic
priorities that will propel the institution forward.
Key among these is the
appointment of a permanent Municipal Manager and filling the vacant
Executive Directors’ positions. These appointments will be effected within this
financial year.
Furthermore, the Municipality will prioritise the filling of all
vacancies critical to the pursuance of our institutional objectives.
The
Municipality has also initiated a comprehensive organisational review to
ensure that our staff establishment is responsive to the ongoing needs of our
communities.
Fellow Councillors, our Integrated Development Plan must be a living
document in which the needs and requirements of our communities find
tangible and direct expression. The IDP must be aligned to a cash-backed
and credible Municipal Budget. To this end, we intend to ensure that our IDP
and budget are premised on satisfying the needs of our communities on the
ground.
Honourable Speaker, the Municipality is acutely aware of the need to grow the
local economy and create jobs in order to deal with the triple related
challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. Going forward, more
emphasis will be placed on sustainable economic growth and development
initiatives. In this regard expertise will be sourced from private and public
institutions on issues of economic development, facilitating investments and
new export contracts, and greater synergy and integration will be promoted
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between job creation initiatives and skills development. Further to this, the
Municipality is in the process of developing a shared vision, mission and longterm development strategy to chart the growth and development path of
Nelson Mandela Bay.
In line with National Government’s priorities, the Municipality is committed to
promoting and facilitating the creation of decent jobs by encouraging
significant investments in the local economy, SMME development and support
and widening the reach and impact of the Expanded Public Works
Programme, with specific focus on the youth, women, people with disabilities
and other marginalised sectors.
Fellow Councillors, all gloves are off as we fight fraud and corruption in the
institution. Let me assure you that we will follow a zero tolerance approach to
any instances of corruption, regardless of the identity or position of the person
involved. Our internal audit and law enforcement agencies will be utilised to
the full to root out any form of corruption. We will soon embark on anti-fraud
and anti-corruption awareness campaigns in the institution to promote high
ethical standards and safeguard the public purse. This drive will also include
tightening weak institutional and governance systems.
Honourable Speaker, as a caring and responsive Municipality we could not sit
idly by while many learners in Nelson Mandela Bay are studying under
unacceptable conditions and cannot afford basic necessities such as school
uniforms, and while many local schools are in a poor state of repair, lacking
the facilities and equipment necessary for effective learning. In response to all
these challenges, an Education Task Team continues to play a significant and
visible role in our communities to assist our children, especially the
marginalised, in partnership with the provincial government, business and the
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community. We also need to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of Kraft
Foods, the Department of Roads and Public Works in improving conditions for
our learners. We call upon other key stakeholders to partner with us in these
inspiring initiatives.
Finally I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all Councillors, officials,
the communities of Nelson Mandela Bay and stakeholders for their efforts and
hard work, which allowed us to record considerable progress in service
delivery in the face of considerable challenges. Let us go forward in a spirit of
unity of purpose and co-operation, rallying together to transform Nelson
Mandela Bay into a world-class city.
Fellow Councillors, it is with a great sense of humility and responsibility that I
now table the 2010/11 Annual Report and 2011/12 Mid-Term Report of the
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
I thank you.
COUNCILLOR ZANOXOLO WAYILE
EXECUTIVE MAYOR
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