Former Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Mongameli Bobani, left, and Council Speaker Buyelwa Mafaya, middle, outside the Port Elizabeth High Court, 20 September 2018. Picture: ANA
Just two months after its own mayor, Athol Trollip, was voted out in a motion of no confidence in Nelson Mandela Bay, the DA now hopes to return the favour by bringing its own motion against the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM’s) Mongameli Bobani.
The party alleges that since Bobani took over in a new coalition government with the ANC, the African Independent Congress, the United Front and supported by the EFF, service delivery and financial management have already taken a major nosedive.
The metro is one of the most finely balanced power-wise in the country, with the current governing coalition having only 60 seats compared to the 60 of the opposition.
DA Eastern Cape premier candidate Nqaba Bhanga said in a statement on Monday that the DA would be tabling its motion of no confidence in Bobani after reported allegations that Bobani received hundreds of thousands of rands in an allegedly corrupt relationship with an Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) service provider.
“These alleged corrupt actions, in which billions were lost by the failing ANC-led government, is alluded to in a reported affidavit by the Hawks,” said Bhanga.
He referenced reports from earlier this month that the Hawks had swooped on Bobani’s office and “removed files and computers regarding an investigation into the IPTS”.
“The financial stability of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, which is key to growing the economy and opening fair access to jobs, is now also hanging in the balance after the city’s takeover by Mayor Bobani and his ANC-led coalition of corruption,” said Bhanga.
“Financial mismanagement and the recent infighting and implosion of the failing ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay will now have a direct financial impact on the residents and the economy.”
He boasted that under the DA-led coalition government the municipality’s collection rate for July had been 98.8%. The rate dropped to 78.7% in September, alleged Bhanga.
“Should this trend continue, it is likely that the city will have a budgeted revenue shortfall of R500 million in the 2018/19 financial year.
“The DA believes this drastic drop in the collection rate is a direct result of the fact that the city has not been issuing municipal accounts for the last two months.
“In spite of this, residents have been charged interest on late account payments and in certain instances reconnection fees where their accounts were suspended due to not paying on the due date.”
He said that the municipality’s creditors repayment rate had also drastically worsened and was now sitting at an estimated 50 days.
“That means that from issuing of invoice, it will take the municipality an estimated 50 days to settle the account.
“This is an unacceptable situation and will ensure that small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) and other emerging contractors eventually end up with severe cash flow problems. These cash flow problems will be a direct cause of job losses in the city.”
Bhanga said he would submit a motion on Friday to ask the acting city manager to intervene to ensure that interest accrued on late accounts be written off by the municipality.
“The DA caucus has also put together a team, led by Councillor Retief Odendaal, to assist SMMEs and emerging contractors in fast tracking payments to them.”
He invited affected people to contact Odendaal and his team at email address rodendaal@mandelametro.gov.za.
(Edited by Charles Cilliers)
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