It’s been 29 years since the dawn of democracy and today we have to celebrate the freedoms which are associated with democracy. Unfortunately, it is a sad reality that everyone in South Africa nearly 30 years into democracy is not free.

You see ladies and gentlemen, there can be no real freedom in South Africa unless we achieve economic freedom for the millions of South Africans who unfortunately still have to endure the shackles of abject poverty.

Approximately 55.5% or 30.3 million South Africans are living in poverty. Some 25% or 13.8 million South Africans are experiencing food poverty, meaning these people have no idea where their next meal will come from.

Whilst politicians are quick to point out that our past is to blame for the large-scale inequality that we witness in South Africa today, they often conveniently forget about their own hand in failing the poor.

When officials and politicians steal from government, they effectively steal from South Africans, which leads to lost opportunities to grow our economy and create jobs. It is estimated that just between years 2014 and 2019 South Africa lost

1,5 Trillion Rand due to corruption.

Corruption takes away our ability to create an inclusive economy and should be considered the number 1 enemy of the state. This is why the coalition government in NMB has taken a zero-tolerance stance against all forms of corruption.

Recently we have uncovered a corruption network in our Electricity and Energy Directorate. We immediately handed it over to the authorities to investigate so that we can root out corruption in this City.

We believe this to be but the tip of the iceberg. You see, Nelson Mandela Bay has R20 billion in irregular expenditure on our Annual Financial Statements. Every cent of this money represents funds that were spend in contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act as well as Supply Chain Regulations. This is more than any other municipality, more than any provincial government and more than national government.

As such it says that Nelson Mandela Bay was number 1 thing in the country: looting. Now that we are turning the tide against corruption our administration can once again focus on what matters: improving service delivery and creating an environment where business can thrive in order to create jobs.

We believe that with the right mindset and commitment to clean governance we can get NMB working again. And when government works, it is especially the poor that benefits. One such an example is the fact that we got the housing delivery program in NMB moving forward again. In the 2020/21 financial year the City managed to build only 27 houses. In the 2021/22 financial year the City build 28 houses. By February this year the City has already built more than 400 houses well on our way to our target of 800 new RDP houses for poor households.

Another example of how we are trying to improve the lives of the poor is the change which we have made to the indigent policy of the municipality, called the Assistance to the Poor Policy. In 2018 the City was still providing free basic services to about 110 000 households in NMB. By last year June, this number went down to 42000. We thus lost 60% of our indigent roster which means that in NMB, the poor got poorer over the last five years. We have now made large scale changes to our ATTP policy and will once again roll out free basic services to all poor households across NMB.

The coalition government in NMB is committed to upgrade all 152 informal settlements so that we can provide dignity to the poor by improving basic service delivery to all concerned. That is why a key focus area of our government is to find electricity as well as water and sanitation solutions for all poor communities.

In order to achieve real freedom in South Africa we need to be able to make our economy more inclusive. The only way to do that is to create a corruption free environment in which business can thrive and create jobs.

In conclusion, remember that government alone can’t find solutions for all our problems. That is why it is so important that all of us take our future into our own hands and ensure that we are part of the solutions for a better tomorrow. 

South Africa and in particular, Nelson Mandela Bay has got so much potential that we still have to realise and we can only achieve that through efforts of collaboration. Don’t wait on government to improve your future, you may wait forever! Get involved with civic society initiatives that work with government in finding solutions for a better tomorrow.

May you and your loved once enjoy a peaceful Freedom Day. Celebrate this day by remembering the past but also be mindful of the massive challenge that lies ahead of us in bestowing each and every citizen in South Africa real freedom - economic freedom.

Let’s get NMB working again!

Ends

Issued by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Office of the Executive Mayor. For more information please contact Mayoral Media Liaison Officer, Jeanine Nel at 082 512 5631.