DA over-promised, under-delivered
DURING last year’s local government election campaign, the DA made us all believe it had the magic wand to fix the problems in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
We were at our lowest point about all the failings of the ANC-led metro.
The DA went to every corner of the metro promising the end of gang violence, speeding up of service delivery and the end of corruption.
There were a lot more promises, but let us stick to these major three.
Let’s start with positive, which is the end of corruption.
From his first day in office, mayor Athol Trollip has worked tirelessly to end corruption in the metro.
He has set up a corruption hotline and various investigations into the different departments in the metro if it seems not all is above board – even suspending metro employees and highlighting business that is not following the rules.
But here is the thing: the poor people of the metro cannot see change, because we are suspending people and taking people to court. They want change – and they want it now.
I believe the DA when making these promises did not fully understand just how long people had been waiting for change to their circumstances.
Also, the DA did not fully comprehend how deep the metro problems were.
Gang violence continues, with young people getting killed on a daily basis. We were promised the metro police’s sole mandate would be to patrol the gang areas, but the only time we see them is in Summerstrand or busy handing out traffic fines.
I am pleading with the DA-led coalition to make this your top priority.
Stop being in the news for trivial issues and implement a plan to stop the loss of human lives.
Also, small strides have been made with regard to speeding up service delivery, but also only if the mayor oversees the implementation.
Where are all the senior managers and directors of the metro? Because running to the mayor to resolve an issue is not healthy.
I have had first-hand experience regarding the lack of service delivery. I have worked with my ward councillor to try to repair street lights in our area on a dangerous patch of road, used by both pedestrians and motorists, but after months of correspondence there is still no action.
The people of the metro need to see urgent, tangible change happening in our communities.
The protest we are experiencing currently is due to communities growing impatient.
We need to stop the gang killings, speed up service delivery and implement integrated public transport as a matter of urgency.
We do not need to see metro officials and politicians in the news for trivial issues. No more promises – it is time to deliver.