Mixed reaction to Jordaan’s first 100 days in office
AS mayor Danny Jordaan gave himself and his team a pat on the back for a job well done so far, one political analyst has given him the thumbs-up, while unions say the jury is still out on whether he can truly fix the metro.
SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) regional chairwoman Nomvula Hadi said: “From a distance, we have seen the mayor deal with corruption and he has identified some of the issues that we have been raising – including that there is a lot of corruption happening in some directorates.
“We applaud him for what he has done so far.”
While deputy mayor Bicks Ndoni said there had been a meeting with unions to discuss concerns last week, Hadi said: “The issue of a moratorium on [filling] posts has not been dealt with – and it is one of the major issues Samwu has been raising.
“We met with the mayor and he is committed to labour relations, but we also understand that a meeting is not an implementation. We will see if he will be able to assist in re- versing the decision that was taken by the council,” Hadi said.
Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) regional chairman Chris Hay said: “I don’t believe that too much has been achieved and I am trying to be positive with regard to the mayor and his team.
“The drastic budget cuts were done without much thought to their consequences, and I would think that this was largely due to the senior officials not advising the mayor and his committee truthfully.
“The cuts have done more harm than good,” Hay said.
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber president Ian Nicholls said: “The most pressing issue facing business is the deterioration of infrastructure and the general lack of delivery in core areas which are vital to ensuring business can operate in the city.”
He said the municipality needed to address electricity and other infrastructure urgently.
“The bottom line is that, as business, we need an enabling environment to be in place in which we are able to operate and one which is also competitive versus other loca- tions around the globe,” Nicholls said.
COPE regional secretary Rano Kayser said Jordaan should be commended for the strides made to root out corruption.
“One should appreciate that he kept the promise he made at his inauguration when he said he would root out all forms of corruption,” Kayser said.
“We are glad that he stuck to his word.
“But although we see he is dealing with it, we are worried it may bring instability within the administration because two executive directors and many senior officials were suspended.
“At the end of the day, who’s going to run the administration?”
UDM councillor Mongameli Bobani said all the suspensions were causing chaos in the administration.
“He [Jordaan] knows there are people who must act [in the positions] but there’s no allowance to pay them,” Bobani said.
As part of the budget cuts, the council had also decided to hold back on paying acting allowances.
“They are busy with long forensic investigations and as councillors we are in the dark,” Bobani said.
“This municipality is down the
drain under his leadership. “There is no service delivery. “People don’t have houses and waste collection is bad.”
The DA’s Athol Trollip said Jordaan had announced uninspiring success stories.
Trollip claimed that the municipality was planning to hire more political staff in the offices of its leadership.
“This is a final confirmation of just how out of touch and greedy this government really is,” he said.
“The ANC has long left the people of Nelson Mandela Bay behind.”
Jordaan’s chief of staff, Mlungisi Ncame, said a submission on the organogram of political offices would be tabled before the council.
“It would therefore be inappropriate to entertain any statements made on it before it goes to council, how- ever false and sensationalist they may be,” Ncame said
Political analyst Dr Mcebisi Ndletyana said: “Jordaan has done quite well since becoming mayor.
“I’m referring to various measures he has taken, both administratively and in reaching out to stakeholders.
“Administratively, he has taken unpopular decisions that have been avoided, especially by the previous mayor.”
On the flip side, Ndletyana said: “What he does not seem to have done well is share the credit for his good work with the ANC as a party.
“There’s a sense he is accomplishing all this in his individual capacity, not as part of the ANC collective.
“The regional ANC has largely appeared as a problem, not as an agent of change that has instructed Jordaan to lead this process of renewal.”