Editor: The meat of the release below was written under the hand of Mayor Gary and it pains me to say that he obviously has an aversion to reading what I have written many many times during this saga; “TAKE CHARGE GARY – for YOU are now the Chief, merely taking cheap personal shots at your detractors, former Mayors, Managers, Officials and others were a complete and utter waste of time and energy and citizens money.” For it is only NOW that young Gary says; The onus now rests on the shoulders of the current leadership collective to change this despite personal interests and cheap political agendas.” You forget to clarify that the onus to take decisions and make Treasury happy is only ever on the man who signs the cheques and carries the Mayoral Chains – sometimes you have to act like a man and make hard decisions!
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has now been informed by the Minister of Finance, Honourable Enoch Godongwana, that the grant funding, owed to the municipality, will be released with immediate effect.
The Municipality says that they are grateful that the impasse is now a thing of the past, but the release of the funding comes with conditions that must be adhered to otherwise other punitive measures may follow.
Mayor Van Niekerk said; “Further engagement with the governing coalition partners, the Government of Local Unity, will be prioritized regarding the latest communication from the Minister as it contains serious consequences for Council, if we do not fully comply. I trust that the opposition parties, who vehemently opposed the full implementation of the Minister’s initial demands, will see the light in the interest of the common good.
The Minister pertinently raised concerns that the City Manager, while conflicted, participates in discussions on the matter and even directly wrote to him with a legal opinion, facilitated through her office, as part of the communique.
This is very concerning as it goes against ethical norms that an implicated person, alleged to have committed serious crimes, is participating in decision-making to address the alleged transgression.
His criticism of the legislative arm of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Council is especially fiery, stating that we failed in our responsibility to fulfil our executive obligations.
I concur with this sentiment, as it was previously raised in a judgement by Judge Goosen regarding the appointment of senior managers.
Honourable Godongwana graciously gives the municipality thirty days to provide additional information to show how his initial concerns were addressed.”
The following documents must be provided, within this period:
- The signed Council resolution as agreed to during the meeting (8 August)
- Court judgements that set aside the findings of the SIU report as it relates to the case of the City Manager (Dr Noxolo Nqwazi); and,
- Council resolutions and the disciplinary board report related to the case of the City Manager.
We, as the executive and legislative authority of the municipality, will have to ask ourselves very difficult questions as good corporate governance practices have been sorely lacking for an extended period.
The onus now rests on the shoulders of the current leadership collective to change this despite personal interests and cheap political agendas.
A lack of action by previous administrations regarding the implementation of the findings of the Special Investigative Unit, is at the centre of the pressures placed on us.
It is our responsibility to take a stand for social justice in the interest of our residents and the welfare of our municipality, as a local government institution under development.
A Special Council Meeting has been called for Wednesday, 27 September, to discuss the communique from the Minister and the court case against the City Manager.
Alan Straton
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