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NMB heading for an underspending plane crash

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Dear Editor

Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) is heading for record conditional funds underspending this year. With little more than six weeks until the end of the financial year, the Metro administration has only spent some 50% of its total budget. With the end of the financial year now fast approaching, it’s almost a mathematical certainty that the Metro will severely underspend its budgets this year.

This is disastrous news for residents as severe underspending will likely lead to NMB forfeiting millions more in unspent funding to National Treasury. The Metro has already forfeited an amount of R430 million in conditional grant funding to the Treasury earlier this year.

Forfeiting conditional grant funding has a massive impact on service delivery to NMB residents and future funding. These conditional grants can be used for maintaining/constructing roads, electricity networks as well as water and sanitation reticulations. The construction of new RDP houses as well as the upgrading of informal settlements can also be adversely affected.

The reason for the slow spending by the Metro mainly relates to supply chain problems as well as poor project management.

The DA has shown that where we govern, we are able to put simple management processes in place so that we can spend budgets within the stipulated time frames and deliver services to our communities. In the 2022/23 financial year under a multi-party DA Coalition, NMB achieved the highest spending record in a four-year period. The Metro also managed to get its first unqualified audit after 11 consecutive qualified and adverse findings by the Auditor General.

The DA has written to the Eastern Cape MEC of Finance, Mlungisi Mvoko, to endeavour to get some immediate support for NMB to prevent this underspending plane crash.

The ANC/PA/EFF wrecking ball Doomsday Coalition is fast destroying NMB. It is clear that they have no interest in good governance or delivering services to our communities. The DA will however continue the fight to rescue NMB out of the hands of this incompetent cabal. The DA is in your corner, fighting for you. Together we can get NMB working again.

Regards

Cllr Retief Odendaal
DA NMB Caucus Leader

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