Veiled threat to suspend officials

“We are in the mood for suspensions,” ANC councillor Mbulelo Gidane threatened municipal officials as he demanded to know when the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s SMME policy would ever see the light of day.

Gidane, speaking at a roads and transport portfolio committee meeting on Monday, said they wanted to be able to comment on the policy as councillors to ensure there were fewer work stoppages in future.

“Enough is enough. This policy must come to form.

“I know that it is not our responsibility but we must remember that the infrastructure and [engineering] department is the highest spender in the municipality,” Gidane said.

“Even if this policy is not supposed to come from this department, we are the main user. Can this policy come to form?

“We need this policy to be progressive in terms of giving more than 30% [of the budget allocated to projects] to SMMEs.

“We are going to face problems with projects getting stopped if this policy does not come to form,” Gidane said.

Economic development executive director Anele Qaba said the policy was approved in council on June 20 and was set to be rolled out and introduced to SMMEs and the public.

Infrastructure and engineering executive director Walter Shaidi said the allocation of roads projects worth more than R30m was guided by the supply chain management policy that was passed in March.

Shaidi said if councillors wanted to comment on the policy they should approach the economic development department, which is the custodian of the policy.

Gidane responded that Shaidi was out of order.

“We are in the mood for suspensions,” he said.

The meeting was the first portfolio committee meeting that DA councillors have attended since the new political leadership took control.

Up until this week, meetings had collapsed as the ANC, AIC, EFF and UF failed to reach a quorum. The plan to catch up on the backlog of about 782km of gravel roads through alternative technologies was discussed by the councillors. Matters became heated when DA councillor Sandile Rwexwana said it did not want “fong kong” roads to be built.

Portfolio chair Rosie Daaminds demanded that Rwexwana withdraw the statement and he complied.

Shaidi said the committee was investigating lighter, resilient and cheaper road construction technologies.