“GET the basics right,” was one of the key messages shared by Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor, Retief Odendaal, at a business breakfast held by Exporters Eastern Cape and DG Incentives in Gqeberha.
While the mayor highlighted the many challenges the city faced, he was also hopeful that the metro would return to a favourable position to attract tourism and business investment.
“Council signed a pledge, together with a business plan, that they are committed to the turnaround plan, supported by a financial plan, that will dictate how the city will invest in water and sanitation over the next ten years,” said Odendaal.
“We have brought back two retired engineers to support the water infrastructure development, as we do not have the expertise to do that.”
Furthermore, he explained that there were plans in place to source electricity from alternative energy sources and decrease the city’s dependence on Eskom by at least 50%.
Odendaal further reiterated that water sustainability was crucial, as no one would invest in a city where there was no water. He said while the dam levels on the western side of the city remained critically low, 100 million litres of water per day was added to Nelson Mandela Bay’s water supply from the Nooitgedacht Water Scheme which receives water from the Gariep Dam.
“Despite our water shortage and continued drought, residents have not changed water usage behaviour. We must make a mind-shift change as our region will always be affected by cyclical drought,” said Odendaal.
Exporters Eastern Cape chairman, Quintin Levey, asked the mayor what businesses could do to support the metro in achieving its turnaround strategy objectives, and why business should continue to invest in the city. Odendaal invited a roundtable discussion to pursue the potential support by business.
“We have a massive opportunity in this city to develop and grow, but we sell ourselves short. Nelson Mandela Bay has a moderate climate, the city is not congested and there are two ports to support exports. We just need Transnet and local government to be responsive to the needs of business,” said Odendaal.
The business briefing was sponsored by DG Incentives and attended by exporters and members of the export value chain in the city.
“As part of Exporters Eastern Cape, we felt a need to host a session with the mayor and industry to discuss the challenges faced by both business and residents alike,” said Brenden Adriaanzen, director of DG Incentives.
“We were overwhelmed by the turnout and can see that the industry is also committed to make our metro great again.”
– ISSUED BY EXPORTERS
EASTERN CAPE
