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Another last hour postponement of a crucial standing committee meeting

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This very important meeting where-in several critical decisions, involving creation of thousands of jobs, were supposed to be taken. The meeting was originally scheduled to sit on the 19th of March 2013. It was then postponed for Tuesday, the 02nd of April 2013.

As the DA portfolio councillors of EDTA, we attended the meeting of the 2nd of April fully prepared and we had applied our minds on all the items of the agenda. Only to find out after we made several phone calls that the portfolio chairperson, with insignificant or no apparent reasons, has postponed the meeting at the last hour again.

At the scheduled time of the meeting, no communication had reached any of EDTA DA-councillors regarding the postponement of the meeting. This is a serious indictment on this ANC-run municipality and a clear sign of poor leadership capacity or lack there-of.

It is also sad to note that this is not the first time that such fiasco occurs under the stewardship of the now newly appointed EDTA chairperson, Cllr Lobishe. When she previously headed the Sports & Recreation standing committee, our DA colleagues had to endure the shambolic state of affairs of EDRS meetings, which were scheduled but never sat.

EDRS standing committee has not completed a scheduled meeting since November last year. This means that EDRS councillors could not make important decisions, in order to exercise their constitutionally and legislatively mandated over-sight role.

It is therefore little or no wonder that the annual Splash Festival was a flop. My colleague, Cllr Andrew Whitfield of EDRS, has recently exposed to the public the dismal failure of this prestigious event.

Councillor Lobishe should be aware that the EDTA DA-councillors would also not tolerate such mediocre. We established a good relationship with the previous portfolio head, Cllr Chippa Ngcolomba, who treated us as portfolio councillors and consequently residents of this metro, with due regard.

I will write to the City Manager to inform her about this misdemeanour, as well as the newly elected Executive Mayor, Oom Ben, who has marketed himself as Mr Delivery. It is now time for him to show leadership and crack the whip on these matters.

As the EDTA spokesperson for the DA, I will also submit questions in council, seeking substantive reasons for yet another postponement of the EDTA committee meeting. The DA prides itself with a team of dedicated EDTA councillors, who are committed to serve the residents of this beloved metro. Especially on issues affecting much needed job creation initiatives contained in the current EDTA agenda.

Regards

Cllr Knight Mali

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Port Elizabethan

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  1. Oom Ben is probably off today – still waiting in the queue for his state pension!