A GROUNDBREAKING memorandum of understanding recently signed between the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, paves the way for businesses to partner with the metro on implementing solutions in response to the multiple challenges facing the metro.
Faced with crumbling infrastructure, service delivery issues, cable theft and vandalism, a water crisis and ongoing loadshedding, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive, Denise van Huyssteen, said that instead of criticising from the sidelines businesses want to contribute practically by rolling up their sleeves to help get Nelson Mandela Bay working again.
“We all recognise the critical nature of the issues which we face in this country and metro, but instead of being overwhelmed by this, it is vital that we all collaborate to change the current trajectory. This starts with taking positive action which can make a difference,” she said.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) is an overarching agreement that enables the Business Chamber and its 700-plus member companies to work alongside the municipality to rebuild an enabling environment for business. The agreement makes the expertise and resources of the business community available to the municipality on a voluntary basis.
Previously, initiatives driven by the Business Chamber to assist the municipality in addressing urgent challenges, including the Adopt-a-Leak and Adopt-a-Substation programmes, each required a separate agreement to be approved by Council before they could be rolled out.
The agreement will enable the Chamber to support the Municipality on specific interventions, and also enable the geographic clusters run under the Chamber umbrella – currently in Deal Party, Kariega, North End, Perseverance and Struandale – to mobilise collaboration between businesses and the municipality, to improve conditions within their immediate operating environments.
It will also cover the existing Adopt-a-Substation initiative, in which businesses have beefed up security at 17 substations so far, proving effective in curbing cable theft and vandalism that lead to disruptive power outages.
Van Huyssteen said that the collaborative partnership-approach driven by the Chamber and the municipality was an opportunity for Nelson Mandela Bay to position itself as a progressive and resilient metro on the African continent, becoming known for its agility in proactively developing and implementing solutions.
“We appreciate the municipal leadership’s willingness and foresight to work with us on innovative, solution-focused initiatives to address the many challenges that hamper efficient business operations.
“In this time of crisis, the metro needs strong leadership from all corners of civil society – government, NGOs, churches, unions, business and other stakeholders. Now more than ever before, we all need to put our heads together and join hands to save much-needed jobs and investment in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Now is not the time for finger-pointing but rather to focus on solutions and constructive actions that will move the Bay forward, for the greater good of our local economy and in the best interests of all of its people,” said Van Huyssteen.
Executive mayor, Retief Odendaal, welcomed the agreement as a broad framework that would allow greater collaboration and partnership between the municipality and the business chamber.
“We need a whole-of-society approach to the challenges facing our metro, and we welcome this positive step to give expression to that. The MOU will create the opportunity for more swift and efficient interventions as it is a standing agreement between the metro and the chamber, and by extension their members, which can be implemented regardless of who is at the helm of the municipality,” said Odendaal.
Van Huyssteen emphasised that the intention of the partnership approach was not for business to “take over” the work of the municipality.
“Rather it is to complement their efforts wherever possible in a time of crisis. The Business Chamber will not be considered an implementing agent of the municipality, nor is it a formal public-private partnership. Participation is voluntary, in the form of businesses offering their time, expertise and resources such as labour, equipment or access to knowledge,” she said.
In practical terms, this would mean businesses offering consulting and advice from their engineers and other in-house experts on specific issues such as the collapsing sewerage network, or innovative strategies to reduce the impact of loadshedding on businesses. This would include technical expertise and support to the municipality in implementing identified solutions.
In some cases, businesses may provide their resources and support to the municipality, such as with the Adopt-a-Leak initiative that repaired household leaks in over 4 000 low income households last year, resulting in a daily saving of 1.6 million litres of clean water.
– ISSUED BY THE NELSON MANDELA BAY BUSINESS CHAMBER
