PORT ELIZABETH - NELSON MANDELA BAY MAYOR VOWS TO HANDLE SERVICE DELIVERY PROACTIVELY

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Mayor Mongameli Bobani has vowed to be proactive in service delivery in a bid to ward off protests by disaffected communities.

In a statement, Bobani said he was determined to stay ahead of the curve to address community issues.

Speaking to officials and community stakeholders at the Uitenhage Town Hall on the first day of the new financial year on Monday, Bobani said: "Staying ahead of the curve to proactively deal with ward-based service delivery concerns is a must to ensure that communities have no need to resort to protests to have their needs met."

He hailed the metro's budget as progressively pro-poor, saying 91% of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Capital Budget has been allocated for infrastructure development and improvements in poorer wards.

"I plan a meeting with all Ward Councillors of Uitenhage and Despatch next week to discuss their budget allocations and ensuring that their constituencies are engaged and informed of what projects and developments are coming their way.

"If we move with speed from day one of this new financial year, there will be no need for communities to toyi-toyi as we will be doing our duty in an efficient and transparent manner," he added.

From the combined R12,6 billion capital and operating budgets, some of the budgeted items are:

- R200m for housing delivery,

- R223m for the upgrading and construction of substations, electrification of houses,

- R482m is set aside for infrastructure and engineering, and;

A total of R317m is provided to upgrade water treatment facilities, the rehabilitation of water reservoirs and the provision of bulk water service infrastructure to support housing delivery and economic development.

via - IOL