A proposal to reduce the number of departments in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality drew mixed views from coalition partners at last week’s council meeting.
The agenda item that dealt with the city’s staff establishment, which was eventually rejected by the council, aims to reduce the number of directorates in the municipality from 11 to seven.
The council voted for the item to be sent back to the mayoral committee for further consultation before it is given to the MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs to effect the changes.
For a metro that is governed through a coalition, the proposed departmental overhaul could have implications for the number of mayoral committee positions available, which would essentially mean that coalition talks would need to start afresh.
The Bay metro is governed through a coalition consisting of the ANC, PA, AIC, PAC, EFF and the National Alliance.
There are 10 mayoral committee positions, with the ANC occupying three, EFF (2), AIC (1), PA (2), NA (1) and PAC (1).
According to the document tabled in council, the promulgation of municipal staff regulations came into effect on July 1 2022, requiring all municipalities to develop staff establishments that must be considered and approved by council.
PA councillor Bradley Murray was the first coalition member to speak against the item.
Murray said more time was needed for consultation.
“The thing is very important because if you look at this document, this document speaks of instability that we are creating because we are rushing.
“This thing was before [the mayoral committee] and it came in the form of a presentation and in mayco we’ve requested more detail be given to us.
“We highlighted the issue at the time [when] it was five directorates [proposed] and we asked him to go back and increase it to core directorates.
“This thing looks as if it was quickly put together so that the high budgeted departments become one.
“All I can see is we’re taking the high budgeted departments and we are making them one. For what reason?
“We are struggling as it is [and now] we want to put it all together. Seven directorates for a metro our size will not do,” Murray said.
Responding to Murray, corporate services political head Yolisa Pali said the item had been brought to the mayoral committee on two occasions.
“Unfortunately, he was absent. I don’t have a problem to defer this item but know that I’ve done my part.”
ANC councillor Bongani Mani cautioned against creating the impression that some directorates would be dissolved or become obsolete.
“That will be wrong. It’s the fact that some of the sub-directorates aren’t functioning as well as we’d like, such as fleet management.
“There is still 18 months [in which time] this issue must be engaged with Cogta.
“My last part — and this is for small parties with one or two councillors — the reason that they’re going to be frustrated is because some of these items are discussed in committees but they couldn’t interact because the PA has two councillors who are MMCs because they want to be in charge.
“We understand they can’t interact with issues at committee level because they don’t have the numbers to interact with issues.
“Go win wards and win numbers so you have more representation in all committees because we won’t be blackmailed into thinking we’ve not done the work we’re meant to do.
“I understand that for a party that is now enjoying two seats in a mayoral committee of 11 or 12, it sounds painful when you’re going to reduce the [mayoral committee] because it means we will no longer be needing some of these seats that are currently occupied.
“So it doesn’t come from a good place. It comes from a place of benefit,” Mani said.
Sports, recreation, arts and culture portfolio chair Bassie Kamana (PAC) labelled the item an ambush.
“Our political magnanimity is being now interpreted as a sign of political invisibility by some political jubilance [sic].
“We can’t under any circumstances outsource our thinking because we’re being insulted unfairly because we’re being told ANC MMCs are the only ones with an ability to think because some of them are political nincompoops,” Kamana said.
EFF councillor and mayoral committee member Khanya Ngqisha said Mani’s remarks were unnecessary, adding that his party was neither for or against the proposal.
“We’re proposing the item be deferred so they can go through it properly.”
DA councillor Annette Lovemore said the staff establishment should have been in effect in July 2022.
“This is a legal requirement that there be this review of the functional structure.
“We require that the municipality function preferably better than it does with this structure in place.
“There is no way that we can accept the [proposed] structure as is.
“The COO’s office is traditionally a governance office that deals with strategic planning and now suddenly we want to put something in called shared services in the COO’s office.
“Customer care, events management, fleet and asset management under the office of the COO.
“We will have directorates that will have 2,000 employees and others with 80 staff members and it makes no sense whatsoever.
“We’re going to collapse public health, safety and security, SRAC [sports, recreation, arts and culture] into one single directorate and call that functional — I don’t think so,” Lovemore said.
She said the legislation said municipalities needed to get as close to five directorates as possible but not necessarily cap the number of directorates at five.
“Cape Town has settled on 12 and BCM on 10 so why are we pushing for as low as possible, creating mega directorates that will never work?”
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