New city manager promises solutions

NEW city manager Sipho Nzuza does not like talking about things, he wants action, he said last night at a Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry gathering to welcome him.

“Yes, I am an action man,” he said in an interview.

“He wants to see the whole city a construction site,” said Phillip Sithole, the acting city manager of economic development and planning .

Nzuza, who assumed his new position in May, told guests he had inherited a city that was stable and financially sound. He assured them he would continue to fast-track the many innovative and inventive programmes that had been implemented in the past to ensure the sustainability of the city.

He also vowed to “decisively arrest all the issues that had been validly raised as concerns by different stakeholders”.

“I want to inculcate an organisational culture of excellence that will permeate throughout the city.”

He said there had already been a clean-up blitz in Isipingo to rid the secondary central business district of unsightly elements and illegal activities and to clean up streams and vacant plots of land.

A task force team repaired roads and stormwater drains and enforced town planning and building regulations.

“The ongoing integrated operation aims to address the decline and poor service delivery in Isipingo,” he said.

He said he was determined to get rid of bad buildings and when staff told him that “there are laws and we just can’t move people” he told them that he was sure they would find a way to come up with a solution.

“We have to address this issue,” he said.

He was equally determined to keep the inner city clean and safe. Security was an important issue and “without it you can’t promote investment and tourism”.

One plan involved introducing a smartphone application enabling people to share incidents so that there was a quick response from the Metro Police.

The municipality has also been holding meetings with the business forums which have been disrupting construction at various sites around the city, Sithole told Chamber guests.

“We are negotiating and sharing ideas with them. We are making progress,” he said.

There might still be some disturbances, but the city believed a long-term solution would be found.