I won’t apologise for property value hikes – Trollip
Mayor hits back at critics after his first state of metro address
Those who voted for and got change have already experienced a dividend
MASSIVE hikes in the value of some properties in Nelson Mandela Bay – and the ballooning of owners’ rates bills as a result – are a consequence of a city that has started to turn its fortunes around.
“I don’t apologise for that,” mayor Athol Trollip said yesterday, minutes after delivering his first state of the metro address in Despatch.
Hitting back at critics who have slammed the municipality for the recent outcome of their property valuations – some of which have skyrocketed – Trollip said he, too, had felt the impact of increasing property prices.
This newspaper has been inundated with letters from readers complaining that the rates valuations were unreasonable and the process was flawed and not in line with the property market.
The municipality is still investigating all the objections it has received and hopes to complete the process by the end of next month.
Speaking to the media after his address, Trollip said: “I bought two houses in the last two years and I know what has happened to property prices – I have paid it.
“That is the consequence of living in a city that has started to turn its fortunes around.
“I feel the pain of ratepayers who are paying more for their rates.
“Last year, people in executive office, members of the judiciary and of parliament and the legislature didn’t get an increase on their salaries.
“This economy is tight for everybody – I feel it and I know the citizens of this city [do] too, but that is a consequence of being in a recession.
“If you do a general valuation, there’s a formula,” he said.
“Nobody goes out there and says ‘we’re going to rate this area that and that because we like it’.”
Trollip, who gave his speech to politicians, municipal officials, journalists and ward committee members at the Ernest Swanepoel Hall, said that since taking over the reins exactly a year ago, the municipality had become the second most trusted metro.
He was referring to the customer satisfaction index, saying it was a source of pride for the coalition government. “Those who voted for and got change have already experienced a dividend from their voting investment,” he said. “After all, trust is earned.” Trollip then gave a detailed account of his first year in office.
He said the municipality was clamping down on corruption by stopping three dubious contracts worth R50 million, initiating an audit of the evergrowing housing revolving fund, and pushing for the prosecution of some of those implicated in the Kabuso forensic report.
“We have suspended five senior officials and have concluded several disciplinary cases [involving] officials that have been suspended indefinitely.”
On growing the economy and creating jobs, he said they had held constructive meetings with Transnet and the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, and the relationship with the Coega Development Corporation was improving.
“We have reduced unemployment by 2.2% in the last quarter of last year,” Trollip said, referring to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the period from October to December.
However, the more recent Labour Force Survey figures paint a grim picture, as unemployment in the Bay increased by 4.3% between January and June this year, with the metro having lost 13 000 jobs in that period.
“On the job creation front, the city has employed more than 2 500 people through the Expanded Public Works Programme [and] more than 2 000 SMME members have been assisted with training and business development support,” the mayor said.
“We are also delighted that two major national companies have invested heavily to establish two major call centres that are to be operated by graduate professionals.”
The investments are the expansion of Price waterhouse Coopers (PwC) and Dimension Data’s call centres.
The PwC expansion should create 390 jobs over five years, while Dimension Data plans to create 375 jobs over three years.
Acknowledging that the city was not as clean as the municipality would have liked, Trollip said they believed they had achieved a lot in a relatively short time.
They were proud of the metro police service, that the city had reduced water losses, surfaced roads and embarked on a massive streetlight repair campaign. He said the coalition government had identified tourism – sports tourism in particular – as an area of great economic potential.
He thanked the municipal officials who were committed, competent and professional, but said performance management would expose those who did not want to get on board.
As Trollip touched on the trouble within the coalition government, deputy mayor Mongameli Bobani – who arrived late – entered the hall to cheers from opposition councillors.
After the meeting, Bobani also held his own media conference, where he bemoaned the fact that the UDM was not consulted to contribute towards the content of Trollip’s speech.
Trollip responded that he was elected executive mayor and it was ultimately his speech about the state of the metro.
Asked what score he would give himself for the past year, Trollip said: “I’m not going to score myself. That’s not for me to do.
“Ultimately, we are politicians and people will score [us] in four years’ time like they did the previous government on August 3 last year.
“Those are the people who count.”