Kouga to focus on investment, service delivery and tourism

CREATING an investment-friendly municipality, delivering basic services to communities and becoming a popular tourism destination is the plan for the Kouga Municipality.

This was outlined by Kouga mayor Elza van Lingen as she delivered her state of the municipality address in Jeffreys Bay yesterday.

Van Lingen outlined her priorities in what she termed “Kouga Vision 2030”. Before she started her address, the ANC staged a walkout in solidarity with 74 workers whose contracts were terminated by the municipality yesterday.

Van Lingen said her party would always include the community in the municipality’s planning.

“We believe Kouga Vision 2030 has the potential to lift the spirits of our communities, renew investor confidence and facilitate economic growth and job creation,” she said.

The municipality was aware of challenges facing it.

“The past six months have been a wild ride. We knew there were problems at the municipality as evidenced by the standard of basic service delivery, but we never had access to the complete picture.”

Van Lingen said while the municipality was not in any immediate danger of becoming bankrupt, its finances were a growing concern.

“The outstanding [owed to] debtors at the end of December was R147-million. Of particular concern is the R114-million which is debt older than 120 days and will probably prove difficult to recover.”

The municipality also owes service providers, including the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, R83-million.

Meanwhile, ANC councillor Eldridge Februarie said they opted not to listen to the mayor’s address to show solidarity with the workers whose contracts were terminated.

But Van Lingen said the 74 workers were part of the Extended Public Works Programme whose employment had never been a permanent option.