By Anita Dangazele
Following what was termed a “productive” council meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality briefed the media on the decisions it had taken.
The council, known in the past for its chaotic meetings where service delivery decisions often took a back seat while other disputes took centre stage, said it had had one of the most productive council meetings in a long time.
The council managed to discuss and conclude several items that had been postponed repeatedly since the year started.
The items included the draft review of the municipality’s job evaluation policy, and the appointment of the risk management committee chairperson.
The council was also able to deliberate on the long-term master plan for the electricity and energy directorate.
A key decision was the one to allow disciplinary action against suspended city manager Noxolo Nqwazi.
Nqwazi is accused of being dishonest and breaching the Municipal Finance Management Act and Municipal Systems Act.
She also faces allegations of violating the municipal regulations for senior managers, with recommendations for disciplinary action by the municipality or potential criminal proceedings being taken against her.
NMBM mayor Gary van Niekerk said that an investigation by the city’s disciplinary board recommended that action needed to be taken against Nqwazi.
He said the investigation “should commence with immediate effect and the investigation report should be presented in council when it is ready”.
He added that Nqwazi would get a fair hearing.
“Whatever is said about the charges, they will be dissected, whether we said it is right or wrong. That is the job of the disciplinary board,” he said.
Speaking about the R171-million reduction in the municipality’s grant funding, Van Niekerk admitted that it was not spending as much as it should.
He said part of the reason the National Treasury had reduced the municipality’s budget was because of low expenditure.
“We’ve upped our spending, we’re now above the 40% mark already. We don’t have a lot of time, we’ve got two and a half months to do the actual spending. As I’ve explained, it’s about committing this money – contracts must be signed that are considered spending. So we are improving when it comes to that.”
Meanwhile, a motion of no confidence against Van Niekerk himself was postponed again on Wednesday.
It was one of several motions postponed by Speaker Eugene Johnson.
The council is now in recess and will only convene if there are urgent matters to discuss before its next scheduled meeting on 29 April.
Pictured above: Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Gary van Niekerk addressing members of the media on Thursday.
Image source: Anita Dangazele
