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NMB Metro has no plan to secure municipal buildings and infrastructure

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Dear MyPE

Several municipal buildings and infrastructure are currently unprotected due to the ANC-led Coalition of Corruption government in Nelson Mandela Bay allowing its alarm monitoring and response contract to expire before the country was placed under lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Municipal buildings and infrastructure have over the past year been vandalised on an almost daily basis. Repairing and reinstating the buildings and infrastructure is costing the Municipality millions of rands. I have previously tabled this issue at a meeting of the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee, but no solution has been forthcoming.

During a Safety and Security Portfolio Committee meeting it was reported that several electrical substations and mini-substations have, over the past year, been vandalised on a weekly basis – leaving residents without electricity supply. (pics here and here)

Millions of rands have to be spent to repair the damages. This could have been prevented if a security alarm coupled to armed response contract had been in place.

I have, therefore, written to the office of the Acting City Manager and the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Safety and Security, Cllr Queenie Pink, to bring this urgent matter to their attention.

The Municipality’s security guards are not correctly posted as per the threats to municipal infrastructure and buildings. Furthermore, the security support staff structure has also still not been approved.

I will write to the MMC for Safety and Security to request that she calls a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security to discuss the security support staff structure and the strategic posting of security guards.

Due to the inept and uncaring actions of the Coalition of Corruption government our City has become unsafe and the residents are burdened with preventable power outages additional to the scourge of loadshedding.

The DA can fix this mess – we have done it before and we will do it again.

Together we can take Nelson Mandela Bay forward again.

Regards

Cllr John Best
DA NMB Spokesperson for Safety and Security

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