To see how hard working Ward Councillors go about their jobs, see Ward 9 councillor, Heinrich Muller’s newsletter below.
You may contact Ward 9 using the contact form at the bottom of this report.
SNAKES
We have been inundated with phone calls w.r.t. snakes in residents’ erven. Please contact Vuyokazi on 041 374-2775 or Arnold Slabbert on 082 332 3660 should your come across a snake in your erf and want it removed or just to find out if it is indeed a dangerous one.
APPLICATION FOR ZONING SCHEME DEPARTURE 4369: ERF 446, SUNRIDGE PARK
An application (Reference number: CF24/00446) has been received for a Town Planning Departure to increase the number of guestrooms from 3 to 12 on the property (2 Lotus Street, Sunridge Park).
The application may be examined at the office of the Properties and Planning Administration, 2nd Floor, Lillian Diedericks building (old Brister House), Govan Mbeki Avenue, during normal office hours.
Should you have any comments/objections to the above application, please ensure that your comments/ objections reach the office of Mrs L Mtimkulu, Land Planning & Management Sub-Directorate, P O Box 9, Port Elizabeth, 6000 (lmente@mandelametro.gov.za, tel: 041 506-3244 or fax: 041 506-3430) on or before the closing date for objections, which is 20 May 2013. Please mention your erf number in your letter.
NEWS FROM THE DA
DA Membership
Should anybody be interested in becoming a paid up member of the Democratic Alliance, you are more than welcome to contact our office and/or pick up membership forms from our ward office at 78 Kragga Kamma Road, Sunridge Park OR contact our office on 041 360-0447.
The form, together with your membership fee (R10), must be returned (using the enclosed self-addressed, pre-paid envelope) before or on Friday, 24 MAY 2013. Contact our office and we can arrange for the forms to be collected.
Media statement
Cllr Leon de Villiers, DA Leader of the Official Opposition in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, issued the following media statement w.r.t. the proposed municipal rates and tariffs increases:
“The residents of this metro are being taken for the ride of their lives!
They have the right to know why the proposed rates and tariff increases are unrealistically high and the answer lies in the fact that our honest ratepayers and citizens are being asked to fund the ongoing mismanagement of municipal financial and human resources. With the exception of electricity, where the increase is 7% on average, the rise is to 13%, which is well above the official inflation rate of 5.6%.
The reasons for the high increase are simply because the ruling party is failing to effectively address the following major issues of concern:
- All current Executive Directors are in ‘acting’ positions and most have been vacant in excess of 9 months.
- The Auditor General reported a water loss for the 2011/12 financial year of R127.2m.
- Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounted to R557.2m. Of this, R234m had its origins in the Supply Chain Management Office.
- Electricity theft in this metro is currently estimated at R 288m per year.
- Lawsuits against the municipality are estimated at R100m currently.
- Overpayment of some senior officials is to the tune of R6m per year.
- Excessive pay packages for political advisers to the Mayor and his deputy are to the tune of R1 263.17m and R1 186.07m, respectively. Both these advisers earn more than their political principals.
- The lack of productivity in the Traffic Department, with both law enforcement and licensing services leave a lot to be desired.
- Overdue consumer debts increased by R288.7m from 1 July 2012 to 28 February 2013 and now stand at a staggering R1,54 billion. The current collection rate is 92.3% and the two most senior debt collectors at the municipality are being prevented from performing their duties due to a dispute that management is unable to resolve.
National Treasury is encouraging all municipalities to carefully consider affordability of tariff increases, especially as related to domestic consumers. They also demand, in the budget documentation, all the reasons for increases in excess of 6% and all stakeholders should do likewise.
The Democratic Alliance has, on an ongoing basis, highlighted spending on non-priorities such as excessive overtime, costs associated with longstanding staff suspensions, unnecessary travel, excessive catering, the use of consultants to perform routine tasks, sponsorship of sporting events and donations to cover funeral costs for those who were politically connected. National Treasury is now also calling for all these non priority items to be eliminated. They have highlighted the fact that some municipalities budget as much as R600 00,00 per annum to participate in the South African Municipal Sports and Recreation Association events. This metro spent a whopping R830 269,44 to send a delegation of officials and councillors to participate in the 2012 event.
The municipality has commenced a public participation programme on the proposed rates and tariff increases, so that all concerned stakeholders of this metro have an opportunity to raise their concerns and demand that major issues be rectified. These meetings will be held at various locations across the metro from 6 to 16 May 2013 and it should be noted that all objections must be submitted by 19 May 2013.
We cannot continue to fund the ongoing mismanagement of the Nelson Mandela Municipality. Council has a responsibility to ensure that the use of municipal resources are used in the best interests of the local community. It should be emphasized that this duty is extended to individual councillors through the Code of Conduct signed by all.
Service delivery in this metro will remain at an all-time-low until we employ competent senior directors and show the political will to eradicate fraud and corruption, mismanagement, irregular, unauthorized, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. That is the bottom line.
For further information, please contact Cllr Leon de Villiers on 083 577 9694″
NEWS FROM THE METRO
100 DAYS ACTION PLAN KICKS OFF
“Wednesday, 8 May 2013, will see the start of the vibrant 100 Day’s Action Plan that the Executive Mayor, Oom Ben Fihla, and the City Manager, Dr Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela undertook to roll out at the start of their terms of office. The Plan will see the leadership reaching out to and mingling with the communities of Nelson Mandela Bay for the roll-out of a broad range of service delivery programmes and events, in which all municipal directorates are involved. The Plan bear testimony to the message delivered by the Executive Mayor in his inaugural speech in Council: “Business as usual is over!…”
TRAFFIC FINES AMNESTY PROGRAMME LAUNCH
We received the following information from the Metro w.r.t. the abovementioned:
“Good news for all residents of Nelson Mandela Bay! On Wednesday, 15 May 2013, the Safety & Security Directorate is rolling out the Traffic Fines Amnesty Programme.
The Traffic Fines Amnesty Programme will afford drivers who have unpaid traffic fines an opportunity to apply to the Municipal Court to receive amnesty on all fines. This Amnesty applies to all fines issued up to 31 December 2012. In terms of the Amnesty, 50% or less of the original fine is payable on all tickets issued to the amount of R300 or more.
The programme will run from 15 May to 15 August 2013. Be sure to take advantage!…”
BY-LAWS AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC
A reminder from our earlier newsletter:
The Problem Building By-law and Heritage Resources & Cultural Institutions By-Laws are available for review in an attempt to enable members of the public to identify areas that they may have a specific interest in or which has a bearing on them so that they may comment thereon before it becomes law.
The abovementioned by-laws are available for scrutinizing in our ward office situated at 78 Kragga Kamma Road, Sunridge Park. Please contact the office on 041 360-0447 to arrange a date and time should you wish to peruse these documents.
Kindly take note that the closing date for Stakeholders and general public submissions will be Monday, 1 July 2013. These need to be submitted to:
Advocate Mhleli Tshamase, Legal Services Office, 1st Floor Noninzi Luzipho Building (formerly known as Pleinhuis), or posted to PO Box 116, Port Elizabeth, 6000, or e-mail to: mtshamase@mandelametro.gov.za
“Those individuals or organizations who would have made submissions and comments will be invited to attend a consultative meeting sometime during August 2013, in order to finalize the public participation programme.”
INSPECTION OF SUPPLEMENTARY VALUATION ROLL & LODGING OF OBJECTIONS
As per a notice that appeared in the Herald, 6 May 2013 regarding the Inspection of Supplementary Valuation Roll and lodging of Objections, kindly take note of the following:
“The Supplementary Valuation Roll is open for public inspection at the office of the Chief Financial Officer, Ground Floor, Mfanasekhaya Gqobose Building, Govan Mbeki Avenue, Port Elizabeth for the period 6 May 2013 to 14 June 2013, Mondays to Fridays (08:00-16:00).
In addition, the Supplementary Valuation Roll is also available on the Municipality’s website: www.nelsonmandelabay.gov.za
Property owners or other persons are hereby invited, in terms of Section 49(1)(a)(ii), read together with Section 78(2) of the Act, to lodge an objection with the Municipal Manager in respect of any matter reflected in or omitted from the Valuation Roll within the abovementioned period.
Attention is specifically drawn to the fact that, in terms of Section 50(2) of the Act, an objection must be in relation to a specific individual property and not against the Supplementary Valuation Roll as such.
The objection form is obtainable at all Customer Care Centres, or on the abovementioned municipal website. Completed forms must be returned to:
Municipal Manager, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Valuation Roll, PO Box 834, PE, 6000. Alternatively, completed objection forms may be handed in at any municipal Customer Care Centre.
Closing date for submission of objections: Friday, 14 June 2013, before 16:00
KRAGGA KAMMA REFUSE SITE FEEDBACK
We received the following feedback w.r.t. the Kragga Kamma Refuse site:
On 7 May 2013 was pre-evaluation of the Kragga Kamma tender. I await further feedback as to the appointment of the contractors. Further update will follow within the next month.
ACTIVITIES AT LINTON GRANGE LIBRARY
Kindly take note of the following activities at the Linton Grange Library:
The next craft fair will be held on 29 & 30 May 2013.
The Friends of the Linton Grange library will hold their next book sale on Saturday, 8 June 2013.
Further information on the abovementioned will be available from the library.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
- Municipal Account Queries: 041 506-5555
- Electricity Emergency: 041 374-4434
- Traffic (all hours): 041 585-1555
- Water Emergency: 080 020 5050
- Tree Maintenance: 041 506-5411/12
- Police: 10111
- Ambulance: 10177
- Fire & Emergency Services: 041 585-1555
- Disaster Management: 041 501-7900
- NMBM Security Services: 041 508-5548/5576
Ward 9 Greetings
Ward Report Back
You may use this form to contact these hard working Councillors: Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 5, Ward 6 and Ward 9.
Why only these? Because these councillors regularly report back to their constituents via MyPE.
Ward 9
Latest posts by Ward 9 (see all)
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- Ward 9 Newsletter – June 2017 - 21 June 2017
- Public Meeting for Wards 9, 39 and Portion of 12 - 16 September 2016
