The ANC-led coalition of chaos in Nelson Mandela Bay has once again failed to reach across the aisle to find middle ground and buy-in from all political parties to pass the Adjustments Budget.

After previous attempts to pass the Adjustments Budget failed, the DA was invited to a meeting with the Executive Mayor on Thursday, 10 March 2022. At the meeting the DA and other political parties present raised their concerns with the budget. The Executive Mayor agreed that the concerns with the budget were not unreasonable. She then scheduled a meeting for parties to discuss the concerns with the CFO on Monday, 14 March 2022.

To the DA’s surprise at 20:15 that same evening an SMS was sent scheduling a council meeting for the very next day Friday, 11 March 2022– without the agreed to meeting having taken place to address concerns and incorporate amendments. As was to be expected, Council failed to pass the Adjustments Budget as nothing had changed since the last time it had been tabled.

The DA reiterates that it can only support a budget that meets the needs of all residents of NMB. Some major areas of concern include:

The appointment of an Acting City Manager.

Excessive employee costs that exceed the target of 30% of total expenditure. This is exacerbated by a ballooning overtime bill.

Inadequate measures to address the water supply and water quality crisis. The Metro still refuses to release the water results, while saying that the water is safe to drink.

Inadequate measures to address the instability of electricity supply.

A financially unsustainable collection rate.

The DA proposed amendments to ward-based budgets, which are yet to be officially incorporated in the budget, despite it being agreed to. These amendments were introduced by the DA to ensure that incomplete projects are not halted, and service delivery is not adversely affected in our communities.

These amendments total R75 millon and include items such as:

• Safety and Security - R2 200 000
• Sports Fields and Equipment - R19 600 000
• Roads and Transport - R21 840 000
• Public Lighting - R4 400 000
• Fencing around Public Spaces - R7 800 000
• Waste Transfer Sites - R1 200 000
• Community Halls - R5 000 000
• Informal Settlements Lighting - R3 000 000
• Bush Clearing - R500 000
• Beachfront Upgrade - R10 000 000
• Fencing of Substations - R500 000
• The DA remains committed to engaging to craft an Adjustments Budget that will indeed meet the needs of the entire Metro. The ball remains in the court of the ANC-led coalition. They must stick to their commitments to meet with political parties and address our concerns.

 

Issued by DA NMB Spokesperson for Budget and Treasury, Cllr Malcolm Figg