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Bhanga Rubbishes Jack Over Mayoral Defeat

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Cllr Nqaba Bhanga, the DA Eastern Cape Provincial Leader had this to say about the “Eight smaller parties handing NMB government back to the ANC”:

Today, 22 November 2021, during the inaugural sitting of Council, eight smaller parties in Nelson Mandela Bay handed the Metro back to the ANC. This was done against the wishes of the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay who once again rejected the ANC at the ballot box during the 2021 Local Government Elections.

Voting for these smaller parties was a vote for the ANC.

Last week the DA, as the biggest party in Council, entered into coalition talks with several smaller parties in order to put together a stable majority coalition government that would take Nelson Mandela Bay forward again.

Yesterday, 21 November 2021, these talks fell apart as certain smaller parties shifted the goalposts and demanded positions upon which we could not agree. These positions included all service delivery departments, deputy mayor and Speaker. Last week the DA was prepared to support Cllr Khusta Jack from the Abantu Integrity Movement (AIM) as Speaker but yesterday he joined forces with other smaller parties in making unreasonable demands.

Although an initial agreement was reached last week, it soon became clear that many of these parties are only interested in positions and do not have the best interests of our residents at heart.

The DA will not enter into any coalition with parties that do not share our principles and values and that will inevitably lead to an unstable government.

We will now focus on being a strong, effective and unrelenting opposition to ensure transparency and good governance where we can.

The DA believes that the people of Nelson Mandela Bay deserve uninterrupted good governance for the next five years. We need to prevent chaos and instability, but this cannot be achieved by rushing into an unstable minority coalition government.

The DA would like to thank the ACDP and the FF+ for remaining true to their commitment to support good governance and reject the ANC.

We will now take up our place in the opposition benches and we promise to be an excellent opposition that will fight for the rights of our residents and the service delivery they deserve.

Editor – My thoughts on Khusta Jack’s About Turn:

Time will tell if the move by Khusta Jack was the right one. There were various carrots dangled in front of him as a member of a closed deal with the DA. His MMC position is an ‘interesting’ one as we seem to be losing investors and our tourism is finally starting to rise out of the ‘Lockdown Headache’.

Unfortunately for the DA they played a dangerous game attacking the ‘smaller parties’ in the lead up to 1 November NOT thinking about what would happen should they require the support of the ‘smaller parties’ in order to form another Circle of Chaos coalition government.

Rather look at that block of THREE votes that managed to wag the tail of the dog than call out a single vote for the mistakes made in the DA campaign.

Jack is a pragmatic man who is respected by all and he will receive support from the movement whenever he calls out any corruption or wrongdoing.

To my mind he has made the right move by recognising the tide turning and making sure that he can be part of the solution from within.

BUT, as they say – politics is a 24 hour game and things could change by tomorrow.

Related: Close Voting Probably Bodes Ill for Citizens of Nelson Mandela Bay

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.