[Speech]: ANC Motion of No Confidence, a Weak Attempt at Grabbing Power

Date: 31 October 2022

Release: Immediate

Note to Editors: The following statement is a speech that was delivered by DA Councillor in Ekurhuleni, Cllr. Alta de Beer, during an Ordinary Council Meeting held on the 26th of October 2022.

Good Afternoon Speaker,

This frivolous motion brought by the ANC is just a weak attempt at grabbing power.

When reading the believing part of the motion, it is clearly that the sponsors of this motion don’t understand the indigent policy in terms of free basic services policy framework provided by COGTA.

Also, the ANC should listen to their own leader, and stop spending so much time on hearsay and social media. Decentralization as opposed in the motion, can in fact improve service delivery and support development, if implemented correctly.

On point 13 of the motion referring to “a lack of strategic direction in the City”, for over 22 years there hasn’t been a strategic direction, nor competent leadership in our City. It is the reason why our infrastructure is currently in a state of collapse, why there is no money in the bank, and why our people still staying in squalor, years after democracy. This is the results of 22 Years of neglect by the same officials appointed by the ANC administration!

We have witnessed years of mismanagement and neglect under the ANC administration. Where people living in our townships and informal settlements are still without adequate running water, electricity, sewage treatment, and waste collection.

Yet now, the ANC Caucus wants to blame the Executive Mayor of only 10 months for over 22 years of financial mismanagement and maladministration.

Speaker let me highlight some of the achievements that the Executive Mayor and the Coalition has managed to achieve in the last 10 months:

Economy and Job Creation

• Credit rating upgrade to BBB (ZA) and A3 (ZA) by the GCR Ratings Agency, placing Ekurhuleni on a stable rating, the only City with a stable rating in the province.
• Launch of the Ekurhuleni Public Employment Project. 1 100 candidates signed the contract of employment.
• An Energy wheeling agreement signed that will see an investment of R6.5 billion and the creation of 2500 direct job opportunities.

Water and Energy

• 46 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) contracted to assist with electricity provision in the City.
• 13 550 illegal connections removed, and 974 tampered and bypassed meters cut.
• Work has commenced on the replacement of the 132KV oil-filled cables in Kempton Park, to replace the original cable installed in the 1970s.
• Security measures strengthened around our power supply infrastructure amidst theft and vandalism.
• 1367 households electrified and 19 high mast lights and 148 streetlights connected.
• Over 48 water points have been installed in informal settlements
• Over 5 water reservoirs have been completed, including KwaThema, Impala Park and Pam Brink.

Waste Management and Environment

• 112 Hotspots Illegal dumping (1 hotspot per ward) cleaned and rehabilitated.
• Bulk containers have been deployed to improve waste management in informal settlements.
• The roll-out of recycling bins has been initiated at all the Customer Care Centres,

Community Safety

• 475 Metro Police Recruits completed their Metro Police Training bringing the EMPD police force to 2923 officers. An additional 674 students are currently in training and will soon join the force to enhance policing in the city.
• 2313 arrests have been made by the EMPD over the past 3 months.
• A multi-disciplinary initiative was launched to address hijacked buildings and illegal connections.

City Planning

• A VIP Desk has been established to cut red tape and prioritise developers to fast-track investment into the city.
• Building plan applications has been shortened from a targeted 60 days to 28 days.
• Township regularization has been expedited. Three townships were identified and submitted for registration at the Deeds Office. Upon finalization, it has the potential of producing 5570 title deeds.

Roads and Infrastructure

• R285 million has been allocated for pothole repairs. The city has cleared 65% of the potholes backlog since the inception of the ‘War on Potholes Campaign.’ — roughly 5200M2 potholes were patched.
• 5 water reservoirs have been completed over the last 3 months, which include the KwaThema Reservoir, Impala Park Reservoir and the Pam Brink Reservoir.
• Over 48 km of roads rehabilitated.
• Over 2100 stormwater systems maintained.
• Over 550 road signs have been installed and maintained.

Policy and Governance Initiatives

• 2% discount to be offered to ratepayers who pay their accounts and keep them up to date for 12 consecutive months from July 2022.
• Implementation of Debt Rehabilitation Programme which will write-off 50% of debt more than 1 (One) year on date of application approval — inclusive of rates, service charges, interest and other costs.
• Just last month, Council approved extension of the incentive base of the Debt Rehabilitation Programme to include tenants in Council-owned rental stock.

This list is not exhaustive, but it clearly shows the progress made under the multi-party coalition.

I would therefore like to ask every Councillor present in this meeting today, that are truly caring for our residents and our City, to vote against this Motion of No Confidence, and not to hand the City back to the hungry wolves.

I further urge the ANC Caucus to do some simple accounting 101 to understand that you can only spend money that is in the bank rather than dreaming up a so-called magic wand that will fix all the ailing infrastructure and service delivery issues in just 10 months.

Years of mismanagement, requires years of prudent governance, financial stability, and accelerated and consistent service delivery in order to see improvements.

This unfortunately cannot be achieved overnight, especially in a city plagued with underperformance and corruption.

Let me remind Council that the ANC we see today, is the same ANC that are responsible for many projects not been completed or for projects completed with inferior workmanship quality, where contractors are paid millions of rands, but the work completed shows no value for money to the city and our tax payers.

Let us also not forget the property valuation debacle that was an embarrassment to the City that costed residents thousands out of pocket each month.

Lastly, this is the same ANC responsible for the City’s loss of revenue because of national loadshedding, the collapsing of the economy, and the shrinking business community due business closures brought upon by loadshedding and a lack of support during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 43% unemployment rate and the collapse of the country’s State-owned Enterprises are more examples of the extent of the ANC’s rot.

Let’s unite and vote against this level of incompetency.

Let’s keep our City stable and allow the Executive Mayor and the executive to remain focused on the Back-to-Basics service delivery mandate and the drive for good governance in the City.

I thank you Mr Speaker.

Cllr. Alta de Beer

DA PR Councillor in Ekurhuleni

082 777 1406