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Today, 4 October 2021, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Nelson Mandela Bay revealed its plans to bring five years of stability and prosperity to Nelson Mandela Bay, at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Bay Manifesto at the Helenvale Resource Centre in Port Elizabeth. (see pictures here, here and here)

The Manifesto provides real solutions and real strategies that puts the residents first, but to achieve that, we need an outright majority government.

It’s a workable, realistic plan built on a foundation of the many successes we have already achieved in local government. A record of action and a promise of more.

No other party can offer such a manifesto.

Our Manifesto commitments fall into five overarching categories.

Healthy Metro: An environment that that is clean and not harmful:

• Eradication of bucket toilets;
• Clean and safe water;
• Establish, equip and beautify parks and recreational facilities;
• Refuse Removal for each household in Metro at least once a week;
• Tackle illegal dumping by re-establishing the Illegal Dumping Task Team;
• Update by-laws related to illegal dumping to be a real deterrent;
• Build waste transfer sites across the Metro – that are well run and safe;
• Security upgrades at our landfill sites at Arlington and Koedoeskloof;
• Establish re-cycling programs.
• Safe Metro: Communities that are safe:
• Roll out “Shot Spotter” technology to all areas that are affected by gangsterism;
• Upgrade fire stations where necessary and ensure that these units are well equipped and resourced;
• Ensure daily roadblocks across the metro to address the lawlessness on our roads;
• Establish and capacitate an anti-vandalism unit to protect municipal and community assets;
• Additional Metro Police precincts in NMB;
• Provide Metro Police Officers with adequate training;
• Establish a Metro Police precinct in the CBD;
• Establish a Metro Police precinct in our beachfront node to safeguard tourists;
• Ensure that the Metro Police support our local Neighbourhood Watches;
• Capacitate and train members of our Neighbourhood Watches;
• Ensure that the Metro Police not only supports SAPS but that they also act as critical link between our communities and SAPS.
• Efficient Metro: Efficient at delivering basic services
• Professional administrators. Competent City Manager, Executive Directors, Engineers and Town Planners;
• Invest in our water infrastructure and hire necessary staff with expertise;
• 48-hour turnaround time for fixing leaks;
• Implement a turnaround strategy to fix our Electricity Department and to make it financially viable again;
• Identify ways to acquire at least 50% of all electricity from alternative sources by 2026;
• Capacitate and resource Roads and Storm Water Department: 72-hour turnaround time to fix potholes;
• Capacitate and resource Electricity Department: 7-day turnaround time to fix streetlights;
• 7-day turnaround time for building plan approval;
• Capacitate town planning department so that there is a 90-day turnaround time for town planning amendments from date of submission until date of approval by Council;
• Table a five year budget (MTREF) within the first budget year cycle which will identify and fund (as far as possible) all future infrastructure projects by the metro over its term of office. Included in this budget must be credible budget assumptions as to proposed tariff increases over the five years;
• Ensure that all Bid Adjudication Committees (BAC) are open to the public and is held at Council Chambers, City Hall. Minutes of BAC meetings will be made available to the public within 7 days of a meeting;
• Internal Audit will be capacitated so that investigations into impropriety can be completed more speedily.
• Resilient Metro: Adapting to changing times and being forward thinking
• New Water Masterplan which will dictate how the metro will respond to climate change and address the frequent droughts in our region;
• Eradication of alien vegetation in the catchment areas of storage dams;
• Ensure that free WIFI is available at all municipal libraries, customer care centres and tourism nodes such as the Beachfront;
• Ensure that all municipal buildings and streetlights are energy efficient where possible;
• Ensure that residents that choose to go off-grid can feed excess electricity efficiently into the grid and be paid for same;
• Further develop the NMB Service Delivery App so that the majority of municipal queries, complaints and purchases can be done electronically;
• Develop a Master Operating System for NMB so that all internal systems are integrated and compliant with both private and public IT-systems and programmes.
• Opportunity Metro: Grow the economy and generate investment and jobs
• Policy certainty: review all municipal bylaws and policies to ensure that the municipal administration is responsive to the changing needs of business;

Adopt a long-term development model for the metro to form the basis of all future planning documents such as Integrated Development Plans;

Remove or address all red tape and bureaucracy that act as barrier to investment;

Ensure that all new private or public sector developments that are valued in excess of R50 million be handled/facilitated by a newly formed Investment Team which will consist of officials directly reporting to the offices of the Executive Mayor and City Manager;

Incentive packages to attract new investment by both the private and public sector;

Ensure that housing delivery in Nelson Mandela Bay gets back on track;

Ensuring that the Housing Competency to construct RDP-housing is returned to Nelson Mandela Bay;

Update the Housing Beneficiary list and ensure that it’s available electronically;

Ensure that all housing developments coincides with the development of community facilities, recreational facilities and supporting infrastructure such as roads and streetlights;

Further Develop the IPTS-system and ensure that it addresses the growing transport needs of our communities;

Further rollout the EPWP-program ensure that a database of all applicants be available electronically on the municipal website;

Ensure that there is a progressive Municipal Internship Program in place so that as many graduates as possible may have the opportunity to partake.

Only a DA majority government can take NMB forward again, because the DA gets things done. We need 50% plus 1 – and we are appealing to residents to be the one!

Issued by DA EC Provincial Leader and NMB Mayoral Candidate, Cllr Nqaba Bhanga