Bay ward committees get the nod from IEC

MORE than a month after ward committee elections were held in Nelson Mandela Bay, the electoral commission has finally declared them free and fair.

Elections were held in 49 wards across the city, with reports of disruptions only in Zwide and Wells Estate.

About 132 000 residents voted for their preferred candidates.

In a letter to the municipality, IEC assistant manager Crosby Bacela officially declared the ward committee elections free and fair.

Councillor Shirley Sauls, mayoral committee member for constituency services, said: “Voter turnout is an indication of voter confidence that their views will be heard by government.”

She said the committees would be inaugurated in due course.

“Ward committees form an integral part of service delivery in all communities and bring government closer [to] residents.”

DA provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga said the party had lived up to its election promise of establishing ward committees to ensure that metro residents were represented in the local sphere of government.

He said: “Ward committees are critical. They are the ears and voices of the people and [help] ward councillors [do] their work.”

The process had credibility and integrity because it had been conducted by the IEC, he said.

The ANC in the region also welcomed the outcome and said ward committees were a critical instrument of reaching out, listening to and taking decisions for the people.

ANC regional spokesman Gift Ngqondi said: “Without the ward committees, councillors would be accountable only to their parties or themselves and not the immediate communities.”

However, the EFF said the process had not been communicated well enough to ensure that everyone got the message about registration and nomination.