At the Mayoral committee meeting held on 1 November 2012 with the Executive Mayor consideration was given to key items aimed at speeding up service delivery in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Items considered at the meeting included:
1. Integrated Public Transport System ( IPTS)
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, together with Public transport Operators, in Nelson Mandela Bay is gearing up to launch a pilot service of the IPTS. The pilot phase will be implemented for a period not exceeding 12 months. The intention is to roll-out a full IPTS service in various phases starting during the 2013/2014 financial year.
The Mayoral Committee meeting considered and approved the following items, pending ratification by the next sitting of full Council,
- Draft Operations Plan: The Draft Operational Plan details the seven routes to be used during the pilot phase. The operational plan also dictates the operating times and service frequencies as well as the fare collection system.
- Draft Business Plan for Pilot Service: This involves capital and operating cost estimates to be incurred by the Municipality and the costs of operating the vehicles by the Joint Venture comprising of Algoa Bus and the Taxi Industry.
- Other draft agreements which were considered include: Draft Cession and delegation agreement, Draft asset transfer agreements as well as draft operator agreement.
All the plans are also subject to the approval of Eastern Cape Department of Transport, National Department of Transport and national Treasury, respectively.
The meeting also approved, subject to Council ratification, the name and logo for the Integrated Public Transport System.
2. IDP/Budget Process Plan
The meeting considered and approved the 2013/2014 IDP and Budget Road Map. The timeline envisaged for the identified activities to take place is from 31 October 2012 to 23 May 2013 (23 May 2013 is earmarked as the approval date of the 2013/2014 IDP and Budget by Council). A decision was taken to organize a workshop for Friday, 9 November 2012 on the 2013/2014 IDP and budget. The municipality will also invite all relevant stakeholders for the workshop to outline their developmental plans within Nelson Mandela Bay as well as outline funding streams available nationally that can be accessed by the municipality for its build infrastructure programmes; these stakeholders include National and Provincial departments, State-Owned Enterprises, SALGA, Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), SA Cities Network as well as Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission.
3. Land acquisition: Walmer Gqebera
The area of Walmer Gqebera is presently land locked with no municipal land to expand on to for housing and human settlement purposes. A thorough assessment of the adjacent areas has been done and there are two portions of land in close proximity to Walmer Gqebera which has been earmarked for acquisition by the municipality, i.e. erven 11305 and 7005. The earmarked land is desperately needed for the de-densification of Walmer Gqebera and to create a future sustainable human settlement area. A project Manager has been appointed by the Municipality to drive issues of development in Walmer Gqebera, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders. The meeting resolved that a Social Facilitator must be appointed with clear terms of reference to facilitate discussions between the Municipality and its residents on matters of service delivery. The meeting also stressed the importance of an integrated development plan for Walmer Gqebera. The meeting resolved, owing to final ratification by the next full sitting of Council;
- To re-plan Walmer Area Q phase 2 and G West and Airport Valley from the present higher density layouts to layouts that can accommodate RDP type development as well as necessary amenities as per required standards.
- To pursue the acquisition of the following erven 11305 Walmer and 7005 Walmer
- That the necessary budget provision be sourced inter-governmentally to fund these requirements
4. Audit Process
A presentation was given by SALGA Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) on SALGA’s initiative to assist Municipalities to improve their audit outcomes. The meeting expressed concern around the current audit process for 2011/2012, with specific concerns articulated around SCM processes. It was resolved that any discrepancies around audit matters must be investigated and corrective measures taken. The meeting also proposed that a partnership between the Municipality, SALGA PWC be formed in order to improve the municipality’s audit outcomes. The meting decided that each Portfolio Chairperson must be the champions of operation Clean Audit in their respective directorates. It was also decided that each directorate must appoint a dedicated official to lead operation Clean Audit in their respective directorates. The meeting further resolved that an urgent workshop for all Councillors on audit matters must be organized to give all Councillors an appreciation of the importance of improving the municipality’s audit outcomes.
