Mayoral Inaugural Speech for 22 March 2013 Council Meeting

MAYORAL INAUGURAL SPEECH FOR 22 MARCH 2013 COUNCIL MEETING

Acting Speaker of Council Chief Whip Deputy Executive Mayor Mayoral Committee Members Fellow Councillors MECs present City Manager Officials Comrades Internal and external stakeholders present Members of the media Members of the public

Ladies and gentlemen

Today marks the beginning of the new era for Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Let me first thank the leadership of my party for bestowing this honour on me. I make a pledge and plea to all of you, Councillors and officials, to work for the people and with the people. We have spent almost two decades breaking down the legacy of the apartheid colonial past as a united force. Now we should work together behind a united vision to ensure the realisation of: o The Freedom Charter o The Reconstruction and Development Programme o The Mangaung Resolutions o January 8th Statement o State of the Nation Address o The Election Manifesto. o The National Development Plan

Our job is to make local government work better.

I call on all Councillors and officials to spring into action. My call to action directs all of us to work together as a collective so that we can do more. Now is the time to conclude the journey that we have started years ago. We must ensure that we bring sustainable, quality services to our people. We are in the process of proactively dealing with flashpoint areas and service delivery protests. We must work together as a collective to restore confidence in Nelson Mandela Bay.

In the first 100 days in office, the Executive Mayoral Committee will collectively embark upon the following programme of action:

Key Focus Area: Economic Development and Investment Related issues

1 o Resuscitating the Nelson Mandela Bay Investment Council. o Establishing a One Stop Shop for Investor Services and Business Applications. o Approval of the Industrial Development Strategy and finalisation of its implementation plan. o Reviewing the Vision 2020 projects, analysing current challenges and providing interventions with clear project implementation timeframes. o Beginning the process for the development of a long-term vision (beyond 2020) for Nelson Mandela Bay. o Opening the lighting innovation plant that will create about 120 jobs. o Opening a call centre that will create approximately 60 jobs for young people in the region. o Calling for proposals for the development of Telkom Park land. o Implementing a Job Creation Strategy.

Key Focus Area: Human Settlements

o Finalising the Integrated Human Settlements Strategy and developing the implementation plan. o Leasing audit of municipal land and buildings. o Acquiring land for service delivery matters. o Providing intervention plans for service delivery hotspots.

Key Focus Area: Safety and Security

o Developing a clear implementation plan for the establishment of a Metro police service. o Analysing the capacity of the institution to manage disasters. o Drafting a feasibility report on the establishment of additional traffic licensing centres in Nelson Mandela Bay.

2 Key Focus Area: Public Health

o Planning to eliminate illegal dumping. o Launching additional community-based co-operatives for litter picking. o Planning interventions to speed up of Environmental Impact Assessment applications. o Performing a feasibility study for the conversion of waste into energy.

Key Focus Area: Infrastructure and Engineering

o Sourcing funding to eliminate infrastructure backlog. o Sourcing replacement funding to deal with ageing and poor infrastructure. o Strengthening, integrating and implementing plans to deal with water leakages. o Providing concrete proposals to deal with bucket eradication. o Ensuring smooth operations of the Integrated Public Transport System.

Key Focus Area: Budget and Treasury

o Developing an integrated revenue enhancement plan. o Adhering to the financial recovery plan. o Fast-tracking the Masakhane Campaign. o Operationalising a plan for multi-purpose centres. o Drafting an intervention plan on Supply Chain Management. o Conducting a clean audit campaign.

Key Focus Area: Institutional arrangements

o Finalising the organisational structure. o Filling Senior Management positions.

3 o Resolving disputes regarding the performance evaluation of the former Executive Directors. o Finalising the 2013/14 – 2017/18 IDP and Budget process. o Resuscitating the process of Ward-based profiling. o Completing the establishment of Ward Committees. o Finalising the Delegation of Powers.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the City Manager, Dr Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, on her recent appointment. She is bringing a wealth of experience to the Municipality and I have no doubt that she will be equal to the task at hand.

I want to assure you that the Mayoral Office will work differently, professionally and better, as it represents the face of the Municipality.

Critical to the task at hand is the appointment of managers accountable to the City Manager by June 2013. It is also imperative for the Deputy Executive Mayor to convene urgently the Remuneration Committee to develop proposals for the costing of the staff structure reporting directly to the City Manager.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro will launch the Masakhane Campaign to focus on the payment of services and to address challenges related to municipal debts. We will work together to ensure that a comprehensive plan is unveiled by June 2013. The strategy will also include the review of the Credit Control Policy and Procurement Policy.

Performance Agreement for Politicians

The Mayoral Committee members (Portfolio Chairpersons) will deliver their policy plans in Council immediately after the approval of 2013/14 IDP and Budget.

Business as usual is now over. We will ensure that the Municipality operates differently and professionally. We must all work together so as to do more.

Together we can build better communities.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you.

Nkosinathi Benson Fihla Executive Mayor Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality