Today, July 28, 2022, leaders of the Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front Plus, African
Christian Democratic Party, African Independent Congress, Abantu Integrity Movement
Pan Africanist Congress, and the United Democratic Movement signed an agreement to
form a new coalition government in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
Today’s agreement is the culmination of almost four months of negotiations to form a new
government in the metro. Extensive time was spent discussing a shared set of values,
principles, commitments, objectives, and priorities that will inform the governance blueprint of
the new coalition.
There is no denying the terrible state of the metro and the urgent need for a change in
government to improve basic service delivery for the residents.
The current water crisis and the poor leadership surrounding the crisis have been a persistent
threat to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay who still face the imminent possibility of dry taps
across almost half of the metro. This crisis and others demand strong political leadership to
steer the municipality away from disaster and towards prosperity.
The impasse surrounding the legality of the City Manager has eroded the stability and
functionality of the municipality’s administrative arm. Service delivery simply cannot materialise
without strong institutions to implement the ideas of political leadership.
These two burning issues, among many others, are key priorities of this multi-party coalition
which seeks to restore stability, root out corruption and improve service delivery.
We stand
ready to take the lead and rebuild what has been broken down.
Navigating these negotiations was certainly not easy for any party, and took a lot of time, effort,
and dedication from all players to finally find ourselves and to bring us here today.
The negotiations had to start off with an understanding and consensus around a common set
of values, principles, commitments, objectives, and priorities, as carefully laid out in the coalition
agreement.
These were vital to achieve as they will serve as the lodestars of decision making
for the new multi-party coalition.
This was then followed by extensive engagements and negotiations around the composition of
government. This proved to be a constructive and robust leg of the talks that created the perfect
climate for parties to engage and find each other towards a final agreement. After multiple
attempts, we were successful in that regard, which demonstrated that a new multi-party
coalition for Nelson Mandela Bay can work.
Coalitions in South Africa are never easy, and while the concept is not new to South Africa, it
is certainly important for all of us to learn the lessons from past attempts so we can apply better
measures for future coalitions. It is a fact that the future of South Africa, especially after 2024,
will be dominated by coalitions. Nelson Mandela Bay can join the many other governments
across the country that are living proof that coalitions work when there is dedication by all
players to make them work.
The next step in this project will be the tabling of a motion of no confidence (MONC) in the
current government. This multi-party coalition remains confident that the MONC will succeed
so that a turnaround in the metro can be realised. This will also enable the new multi-party
coalition to enter government and present their governance plan to the residents of the
municipality on the most critical service delivery issues at the centre of their heart.
The new multi-party coalition are united in our quest to fix what has been broken and restore
hope that has been lost.
Let this be a turning point for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro where a capable coalition
government can rebuild the municipality and set it on a new path towards a better future for all
of the residents.
The composition of governance in the new multiparty coalition government has been set out as follows:
Executive Mayor: DA
Deputy Executive Mayor: AIM
Speaker of the Council: DA
Chief Whip of the Council: VF+
Mayoral Committee Member for Budget and Treasury: DA
Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services: DA
Mayoral Committee Member for Infrastructure and Engineering: DA
Mayoral Committee Member for Electricity and Energy: ACDP
Mayoral Committee Member for Roads and Transport: DA
Mayoral Committee Member for Public Health: AIC
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security: DA
Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development, Tourism, and
Agriculture: UDM
Mayoral Committee Member for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture: PAC
