Grahamstown Business Forum steps up to help Makana

BUSINESSES, church leaders and civil society in Grahamstown are rallying behind the troubled Makana Municipality to get the city out of its financial rut.

According to acting municipal manager Riana Meiring, the municipality is battling to pay service providers as its revenue collection rate is at 82% instead of the 95% which is required to cover all costs.

Since the national government pulled out from its intervention last year, the municipality has been struggling to collect money from ratepayers to pay its own creditors to deliver services.

“Although the revenue collection has increased to 82%, which is about R23-million [on a monthly basis], for the municipality to operate normally it needs to raise at least R30-million to cover all municipal expenses,” Meiring said.

The Grahamstown Business Forum (GBF) last week organised a strategic planning session between the municipality and stakeholders.

Representatives from the premier’s office, National Arts Festival chief executive Tony Lankester and Bishop of Grahamstown Ebenezer Ntlali, among others, attended the meeting.

The parties discussed how they could work with the municipality to beef up its revenue collection, clean up the town and also fix potholes.

GBF chairman Dr Trevor Davies said they met with the Makana officials to get a better understanding of what was going wrong.

“Makana is not the only municipality struggling, its situation is not unique,” he said.

“As the business community, we want to work with the municipality and provincial government to have a city where people feel cared for.

“We had a constructive engagement and it was clear what the problems are.

“We need to collect outstanding debt, get a high level of productivity from our municipal officials and make sure government grants that are promised to the municipality actually come,” Davies said.

“We want to be part of the solution. We need to form a partnership and make Grahamstown work.”

He said a non-negotiable part of the deal was for the municipality to appoint a permanent municipal manager.

“We are happy a promise was made that a municipal manager will be appointed at the next council meeting.

“Without having leadership it is very difficult to make things work,” Davies said.

Lankester said he was “hopeful for the future of Grahamstown based on the engagement and passion of the participants”.