Mayor Eugene Johnson was slammed by several parties during a council meeting on Thursday for an ongoing service delivery crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay and told to pull up her socks and get off the golf course.
The state of the city took centre stage at the meeting at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, where parties lambasted Johnson for not doing enough.
The city has been under siege in recent weeks with violent protests while potholed streets remain filthy and there are constant power outages.
DA councillor Retief Odendaal, who was visibly emotional, said Johnson had failed to address critical issues of service delivery which affected thousands of residents.
He said Johnson had failed to meet people in the street and address the challenges facing the metro.
“Because of the inability to govern, money will be sent back to the National Treasury.
“However, if we work together we can be able to provide and deliver the services to the people,” he said.
Odendaal said the municipality’s midyear performance management report highlighted how Johnson had failed.
According to the report, the metro only managed to achieve four of its 16 key performance indicators within the basic service delivery key performance area.
The indicators, he said, were a statistical expression of the lack of service delivery ordinary people were experiencing.
He urged the mayor to speed up service delivery.
ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said parts of Motherwell were burning for 15 days due to electricity protests but instead Johnson was seen playing golf on one of those days.
He questioned Johnson’s priorities.
“The city is a mess. For days, residents were protesting as they did not have basic services while the mayor was unavailable to attend to them.
“She was playing golf.”
While ANC councillor Gamalihleli Maqula applauded Johnson’s efforts, he said townships were dirty.
Maqula said politicians needed to work together to provide better services for all residents.
“The townships are dirty in this metro,” he said.
“There are potholes everywhere while there are contractors who are not doing their job.”
He said officials were fighting among each other while service delivery was on hold.
FF+ councillor Bill Harrington said: “The councillors should all work together to provide the residents with better services and also stop praising each other for doing nothing.”
Responding to the criticism, Johnson said no money would be returned to the National Treasury under her watch.
“The issues with protests in Motherwell have been dealt with.
“[Electricity and energy political head] Luxolo Namette and the wards went to the people and addressed them.”
With the threat of scrapping the mayoral executive system in the city hanging over the council, dozens of items were quickly passed with very little debate.
During a closed session, the filling of the chief operating officer and executive director of infrastructure and engineering positions were deferred.
The recommendations of the Mandela Bay Development Agency’s new board members were also deferred.
According to a report, the closing date for nominations was January 31, with applications subjected to a solvency and compliance vetting process.
After being shortlisted, Johnson recommended to the council that the new board members be:
- Odwa Mtati;
- Sabelo Nkuhlu;
- Glenda Perumal;
- Nomhle Tys;
- Louella Mbopa;
- Palesa Kadi;
- Nomnikelo Kondlo;
- Michelle Mbaco;
- Christian Marais;
- Ernest Bergins; and
- Sello Headbush.
HeraldLIVE