More questions than answers over controversial memorandum of agreement between DBSA and Ekurhuleni
by Cllr. Bill Rundle — DA Shadow MMC for Transport Planning in Ekurhuleni
Date: 08 October 2021
Release: Immediate
Type: Media Statement
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni finds it inexplicable that the ANC-led coalition* has entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), following a very poor track record of cooperation between the two entities resulting in a number of failed projects throughout the City.
Presented at the Ordinary September Council, the memorandum seeks the authorisation of an agreement between the DBSA and the CoE, with the former being the preferred partner in the development of a Smart City strategy. The DBSA is mandated to provide planning, financing and implementation support to municipal development projects.
The DA has a number of concerns regarding the memorandum. Firstly, the agreement flies in the face of the City’s ethos of being inclusive in promoting development. SMMEs who are not on the DBSA’s preferred suppliers list are likely to be completely excluded as service providers in developmental projects, which will do little for the economic empowerment of local business.
Secondly, a number of developmental projects embarked upon by the CoE and DBSA in recent history have ended in utter failure. This includes the refurbishment of the SAAME building in Germiston which is way behind schedule and way over budget, the highly suspicious R842-million debt financing deal for the City’s BRT Bus acquisition, and the DBSA’s failure to honour a previous agreement with the City to take over the operations of the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO). These failed projects inspire little hope that the DBSA will be able to achieve any meaningful development within the City.
Thirdly, the timing of the memorandum is highly suspicious with the item serving just over a month before the upcoming Local Government Elections, following which a new Council term will commence with new stakeholders and new political actors in key decision-making positions. It is disingenuous at this late stage in the Council term for the ANC-led coalition government to leave such a controversial and burdensome agreement for the incoming administration to come to terms with.
These reckless actions and poor planning processes followed by the ANC and their coalition partners are an abuse of their power and the DA will continue to hold them and their actions to account. This memorandum needs to be properly interrogated by the Oversight Committee to ensure it not only espouses fairness and equal opportunity in the City’s supply chain, but that it promises to deliver on the City’s urgent developmental goals.
#Time4Change
*ANC Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)
Cllr. Bill Rundle
DA Shadow MMC for Transport Planning in Ekurhuleni
