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Coalition Talks

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The DA will always put the people of NMB first

Dear MyPE

Much has recently been reported of coalition talks between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay, to form a government and remove the ANC-led Coalition of Corruption.

The DA has previously said that we will only ever make decisions based on what is in the best interests of the people of Nelson Mandela Bay.

After today’s failed council meeting it has, yet again, been made abundantly clear that the ANC-led Coalition of Corruption will do everything in its power to prevent an Executive Mayor from being elected and prevent the appointment of a competent and qualified acting City Manager.

They are so hell-bent on looting the City’s coffers that they are ignoring directives from the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Eastern Cape MEC for CoGTA, Xolile Nqatha, and National Treasury. All of these have given instructions that a Mayor be elected, and a competent, qualified and uncompromised acting City Manager must be appointed.

The DA’s urgent application to compel the Speaker, Cllr Buyelwa Mafaya, to call a council meeting to elect a Mayor and appoint an acting City Manager was heard on 11 August in the Port Elizabeth High Court. We believe the court will very shortly find in our favour and that the ANC-led Coalition of Corruption will, thereafter, be removed from power.

In the past, during our tenure in government as part of a coalition government, the DA has proven our commitment to serving the people. After taking over in 2016, we were able to turn a broken Nelson Mandela Bay around and save it from collapse.

Some of the successes achieved during the two years that the DA was part of the governing coalition government include:

  • NMB went from being in the red to having a R2 billion surplus, receiving a AAA credit rating;
  • The City established a new metro police service;
  • We stopped R615-million of corrupt contracts;
  • The City achieved the best Urban Settlement Development Grants spending in the country;
  • We instituted Shot-spotter technology to help curb gang violence;
  • Almost 10 000 bucket toilets were eradicated; and
  • We put the IPTS buses on the road for the first time.

This would not have been possible had the DA not formed a coalition government and worked with the other parties who, at their core, wanted to put the people of Nelson Mandela Bay first and ensure that they received the services to which they are entitled.

The DA will only enter into talks with political parties who would like to see the City returned to a path of prosperity, based on the values of doing what is best for the people of Nelson Mandela Bay.

We will make sure that good governance and accountability return to Nelson Mandela Bay, and that the public funds that have been entrusted to us, are used to deliver services to the people rather than line the pockets of cadres.

The DA will keep working tirelessly to turn this Metro around. We have done it before, and we will, together with any coalition partners and the people of Nelson Mandela Bay, do it again.

Regards

Cllr Nqaba Bhanga
DA Eastern Cape Provincial Leader and NMB Mayoral Candidate

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.