Church leaders in Nelson Mandela Bay have warned councillors that if they do not prioritise serving citizens “we will once again petition provincial and national government to dissolve the current council and call new elections”.
The ultimatum is delivered in an open letter to the council signed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Church Leadership Network (NMBCLN), which since before the 2021 local goverment elections, has been putting pressure on the council to fulfil its service delivery mandate.
In November 2021 the ANC and DA each won 48 of the 120 seats in the council, leaving small parties in position to wield disproportionate influence as coalition “deal makers”. A coalition headed by the ANC led the metro until September last year, when a DA-led coalition took the reins after the ANC mayor Eugenie Johnson was outsed in a vote of no confidence.
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In an allusion to alleged ongoing power struggles with fluctuating coaltion loyalties, the NMBCLN letter says: “With regards to the latest reported moves to destabilise the governance of the municipality, the church leadership of Nelson Mandela Bay calls on the elected representatives in the metro to be led by doing what is right for the residents who voted for them rather than what is expedient or in their self interest.”
The letter continues: “It is morally reprehensible that the people in whom the residents of the metro have entrusted their livelihoods and future behave in such an unprincipled matter.
“The result is that jobs are being lost and residents are getting poorer and more desperate.
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“Electricity, water and sewage infrastructure is crumbling. Roads are potholed.
“The number of homeless grows daily.
“Crime is rampant.
“These are evils which should be the priority of supposed representatives of the people.
“But, we are not helpless.
“Collectively, our churches represent the majority of the suffering citizens of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Their voice cannot be ignored any longer.
“We call on our pastors to engage with their ward councillors from all parties, many of whom can be found on church pews on Sundays.
“When it comes to voting, the councillors must focus on service delivery and stable government and not in the narrow interests of their party or themselves.
“The people of the metro must come first.
“Failing that, we will once again petition Provincial and National government to dissolve the current council and call new elections.”
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How can anyone fail to see the massive difference in service delivery since the coalition took over? Yes there is still a tremendous amount of work to do. That is because they inherited a filthy, slum of a city that had been bankrupted, as well as run into the ground, thanks to decades of zero maintenance and corruption by a bunch of self-serving kleptocrats. Not to mention the rampant theft & vandalism, which went steroids after Covid, and which has seen the destruction (and/or desecration) of countless heritage areas, businesses and churches. Though one could argue this last item is not directly the fault of previous local government/local policing but certainly a lax attitude to crime plays a huge part in it. (Look up Broken Windows Theory to see how Giuliani turned NYC from sleazy, murderous hellhole, to the safe & spotless no1 tourist destination of the world). But back to our local Municipality and the current coalition. I will take just 2 examples of service delivery. 1 – Streetlights. When the coalition took over there was a backlog of 14 000 streetlights out in the metro! Within 1 month that number was halved. Now the backlog has been totally cleared. 2 – Rubbish trucks. In the middle of 2022 only 2 out of 12 rubbish trucks were working, to serve the entire Bay. Why you may ask? Because the other 10 had broken down and we did not have a diesel mechanic to fix them. After the coalition took office they appointed a mechanic and now all rubbish trucks are running and doing their job properly. Even though many said it was impossible, as it happens our current coalition of 10 parties is working extremely well and is actually the envy many others. This BizNews article below even calls it a “Beacon of Stability”.
https://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2023/04/21/nelson-mandela-bays-opposition-coalition-beacon-stability-sa
Though I absolutely agree with the dire need for continued service delivery and for leaders to be accountable to constituents, I do question the timing and motive behind this missive from the NMBCLN.
I would argue that rather than berating the current administration, ministers should instead encourage their congregants not only to emulate the servant leadership of Christ in their own communities, but also to vote their values. Vote for a party which truly lives out Christian values and does not just pay lip service to them! We are still a Christian nation. Nearly 80%. If everyone actually lived out their beliefs what a country we would have.
May God bless this city. He has already done the impossible in keeping the coalition together and allowing them to flourish in rebuilding us, brick by brick. Even so as believers it is always easy to join in on magnifying all the bad stuff when people tear this place down with their words. Just remember the power of death and life is in the tongue. So let us all speak life over this city! What is impossible with man, is possible with God.
I pray that God will confound the evil-doers and raise up godly leaders God bless Gqebehra, God bless NMB!