Plan for service delivery war rooms is met with resistance
WAR rooms will be set up in every ward across Nelson Mandela Bay in a bid to bolster service delivery in communities, Cooperative Governance MEC Fikile Xasa said in Port Elizabeth yesterday.
But the DA-led coalition is not thrilled with the decision as it feels it duplicates existing structures in the metro.
The programme is part of Operation Masiphatisane, an integrated service delivery model created by Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle’s office.
The operation is aimed at fostering closer ties with communities.
Masualle is pinning his hopes on the war rooms to curb service delivery protests that often turn violent.
Xasa met all Nelson Mandela Bay councillors at the Port Elizabeth City Hall.
He told them the war rooms would be implemented in all 60 wards by January if all went according to plan.
But council speaker Jonathan Lawack said he had reservations. “We have a service delivery call centre which works wonderfully well,” he said.
“[We have] a rapid response task team that is working optimally.
“On top of that, people have their ward councillor offices where they can go and complain about service delivery issues.
“As the political administration, we need to dissect this and see how it fits in with our existing efforts to deliver services.”
But Xasa argued that the programme should not be viewed as a duplication but as a new government initiative that would bolster responses to community needs.
He acknowledged it would not be easy to set up the structures as the coalition government might have different views.
“Here I am navigating my way, I can’t give instruction,” he said.
“The needs might be different. There might be somebody else with a different view.”
“We will need to make them understand why we adopted this approach.”
Lawack said talks would continue.