DA wants intervention to save Nelson Mandela Bay from ‘bankruptcy’

The DA wants the provincial and national government to intervene in Nelson Mandela Bay which it says is heading towards bankruptcy due to the “inept coalition”.

This is despite co-operative governance MEC Zolile Williams stepping in with support by seconding Mandla George to act as city manager on Monday.

The party held a media briefing on Tuesday at the DA’s provincial headquarters highlighting some of the city’s failures which they say will drive investment away.

The metro is governed by a coalition comprising the ANC, PA, AIC, EFF, NA and PAC.

At the briefing, DA MPL and Bay constituency leader Retief Odendaal said basic services had ground to a halt under the coalition with mayor Gary van Niekerk at the helm.

“Business confidence has plummeted, and hundreds of millions in grant funding remain unspent,” Odendaal said.

“The residents of the Bay are feeling the devastating effect of the political instability, policy uncertainty and lack of leadership under Van Niekerk.

“When businesses lose confidence and disinvest, people lose jobs, and in a province with the highest unemployment rate in the country, we can’t afford to lose any.”

Odendaal said political stability needed to be prioritised so that economic stability could be achieved.

He said the DA would approach the provincial and national co-operative governance departments, including the National Treasury.

“As a first step to remedy the situation, I will write to the new acting city manager, advising him of the most pressing matters that require his attention.

Responding to the DA, Van Niekerk said claims that the party could provide stability was misleading.

He said it whitewashed its complicity in dubious decisions that the coalition had to clean up.

“Since the DA was replaced as the governing party, the metro received an unqualified audit for the first time in 13 years,” he said.

“We have been making great strides in reducing the turnaround time for applications from the private sector to invest in the city.

“Private sector investments of hundreds of billion rand in direct and foreign investment have been announced by Hive Hydrogen SA, Volkswagen Africa Group and Stellantis among others, showcasing their vote of confidence in the region.”

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