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NMB Executive Mayor Nqaba Bhanga’s Nine Priorities

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Nqaba Bhanga was elected as Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor on Friday 4 December.

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter, a positive chapter where we put aside the politics and focus on fixing Nelson Mandela Bay. We have done it before, and we can do it again.

I want to be clear, from the onset, that this is not going to be easy.

This responsibility comes at a time when our city is waging war against the rampant spread of COVID-19, deepening poverty, rising unemployment, rampant crime and a devastating drought.

It is not going to be easy. Much of the ground we gained since 2016, has been lost. In places, we are worse off than we were before, with even more daunting challenges to deal with.

Nqaba Bhanga
New Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Nqaba Bhanga.

But we are ready. We will not shy away from our commitment to the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay.

We will root out corruption wherever we find it. We will deliver basic services and bring back law and order.

A coalition of good governance is back in City Hall, and we ask that citizens, businesses, civic and religious organisations as well as all municipal staff, officials and councillors rally behind this coalition. We cannot do this on our own. We need your help.

We know that there is lots to do, and we have a comprehensive turnaround programme that we will be rolling out in the coming weeks.

The most immediate matters that require attention, listed in order of priority, are:

  1. The rampant spread of Covid-19 in Nelson Mandela Bay needs to be addressed head-on. We will be calling a briefing session with the Head of our city’s Disaster Management office, and every effort to mitigate against the spread of the virus must be embarked upon. This includes ramping up public awareness campaigns immediately.
  2. We will request the Budget and Treasury office to brief us on the state of finances of the city, and the impact COVID-19 has had on the city’s finances.
  3. The drought poses a serious and obvious risk to the people and economy of Nelson Mandela Bay.
    We want to urgently meet and engage the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation regarding the drought mitigation plan for the city, and we believe a good case can be made for the department to temporarily provide a water engineer to help avoid DAY ZERO. We further want a briefing from our own officials on the current status of drought mitigation measures in the city.
  4. I will request the CFO to present a report on the progress of all service delivery and expired service delivery contracts. We are going to cut the grass, repair potholes, fix the leaks and fix the streetlights.
  5. Our administration has been battered and bruised by compromised officials. We must fast track the appointments of acting executive directors who are not compromised and where necessary, fill vacancies where they exist.
  6. Housing for residents and the failed projects will require us to engage both the provincial and national departments of Human Settlements to look for a way forward to deliver more houses. Intergovernmental relations must be improved if we want to succeed with our turnaround of the city. We will request meetings with both the national and provincial departments.
  7. We have seen that Covid-19 PPE procurement has engulfed many municipalities and government departments in scandals, our city was not immune to those who came to steal from the city. We want to know who received contracts to supply PPE, for how much and did we get value for ratepayer Rands.
  8. We are going to clean our city! We need to instil a sense of pride where we live and allow communities to take ownership of parks and public spaces, along with the municipality. We can only do this in partnership with each other.
  9. Our approach to delivering basic services has to change and will change. We will establish a Basic Service Delivery Action Programme in my office, which will coordinate and monitor the eradication of the service delivery backlog in the city, along with our MMC”s. Daily reporting, accountability to voters and direction are returning to City Hall.

All of these measures require our immediate attention.

It is my sincere wish that through cooperation, we can rid our city of the issues that constantly hound it.

I extend the hand of friendship and partnership to all residents, businesses, ratepayers, civic and religious organisations and again ask you all to help us on the journey ahead.

We cannot undo the damage alone – we need your support.

I know that the people of Nelson Mandela Bay are a caring people. A loving people. I have seen first-hand the goodwill and compassion of the people of Nelson Mandela Bay during this pandemic.

I know that Nelson Mandela Bay is rich in untapped potential. Let us work together. Let us shine a light on that potential and grow this city into the powerhouse it is meant to be!

Together, let us take Nelson Mandela Bay forward!

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NMB Communications

Media Communications at Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality Communications Department is responsible for communicating pertinent Municipal news from Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch. Municipality Contact Details. See more articles by NMB Communication's.