Leon de Villiers |

By Patrick Cull

NELSON Mandela Bay has ended up shelling out close to R1-billion for the privilege of being a host city for the 2010 Fifa World Cup as both national and provincial government have defaulted on funding commitments.
This after the city should only have had to pay R340-million.
Local politicians and ratepayers have slammed the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) for allowing the staggering costs – R878-million – to get so out of hand, saying it is yet another example of the metro making “impulsive” decisions that could end up crippling the city financially.
They also fear the forthcoming Afcon 2013 tournament – of which Port Elizabeth is a host city – could see the municipality follow the same devastating path.
Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Bay Ratepayers’ Association, Kobus Gerber, said it showed the municipality was “making impulsive decisions and putting ratepayers at risk”.
Gerber added the municipality had “yet again got itself in a financial mess” with ratepayers having to pay to “get them out of it”.
“With Afcon 2013 we are bound to walk the same path again. Who gives the municipality the right to take our money and push it into events like this?
“They sould ask us before they just spend money like this, because we are the ones who have to help them out of trouble when everything flops.”
The current cash crisis, DA caucus leader Leon de Villiers said, was “largely due to the cost of hosting the World Cup” and the reason why the metro’s Capital Replacement Reserve was now depleted.
De Villiers said Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile and the ANC “have made the same mistake by committing this metro to host Afcon 2013 without first obtaining a firm funding commitment from national and provincial governments”.
“No details have as yet been released on the extent to which national and provincial government will assist in terms of the R30-million required to stage the tournament,” De Villiers said.
“The mayor and ANC have their priorities wrong as they are unable to provide basic services to a vast number of residents who are still using the bucket system, without proper housing, water and electricity.”
De Villiers said the failure to appoint a permanent municipal manager and spending R11.8-million to sponsor nine PSL soccer matches at the stadium earlier this year indicated the mayor and the ANC were “failing the residents of this metro”.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday June 16 2012.

By Patrick Cull and Yolandé Stander

THE battle for control of Eastern Cape municipalities is on a knife-edge with politicians and analysts both agreeing Wednesday’s local government election will prove to be one of the most hotly-contested days at the polls since South Africa became a democracy in 1994.

All eyes, both nationally and throughout the province, will be on Nelson Mandela Bay, where the DA is confident that, with the support of other parties, it can keep the ANC below a 50% majority. The ruling party, in turn, is adamant this outcome is “not even in our thinking”.

While there is not expected to be a “dramatic change” in the balance of power at the Buffalo City Municipality, the DA was likely to see a “favourable increase” in votes, according to analysts.

Essentially what will determine the outcome in Nelson Mandela Bay is the percentage poll.

The DA wants a minimum of 70% turnout in the wards it controls – it failed in most instances to hit this target in the 2006 local government election – with a far lower percentage poll in those areas that are typically ANC strongholds because of an election protest stay-away.

If that happens, the possibility of a DA-led coalition will be enhanced. Both the DA and Cope have stated that they are open to a post-election coalition.

DA mayoral candidate Leon de Villiers said the DA was confident it could lead a coalition of parties after the elections, adding this was based on the fact that the ANC lost 20% of its support in the metro in the last general election in 2009.

“With the current cash-flow crisis in this metro, the poor service delivery, corruption and the ongoing infighting within their ranks, ANC voters are becoming increasingly despondent, so they are going to lose further votes,” he said.

A further indication that the DA believes it will be heading a coalition in Nelson Mandela Bay after May 18 is that national leader Helen Zille will be in the metro on Tuesday and election day – the fifth time she will have campaigned here.

On top of that the “tracking” of support for the ANC and DA suggests the result will be close.

The basis of the DA’s belief that they can defeat the ANC rests on the results of the 2009 general election when the ANC polled 50.14% in the national election in an 81.2% poll and 49.64% in the provincial election in an 80.6% poll.

In the national election in 2009 the opposition parties which could possibly form a coalition after the May 18 election – the DA, Cope, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and Freedom Front Plus along with the Independent Democrats – took 47.77%.

In the provincial poll they won 48.14%.

Cope mayoral candidate Smuts Ngonyama was as bullish as De Villiers, saying his party had “substantial support” and was going to do well.

However, ANC regional secretary Zandisile Qupe rubbished these claims, saying his party was very confident it would not only retain control of the metro, but also make inroads into other areas. “The possibility of a DA victory is not even in our thinking,” he said.

Port Elizabeth political analyst Joleen Steyn Kotze said the result of the election in the Eastern Cape would depend on the internal battles within the ANC, which could lead to increased voter apathy. “We have seen various incidents of conflict between different factions within the ANC,” she said.

“There are already claims that the candidature of the ANC in the Alfred Nzo Municipality (covering the north-eastern side of the former Transkei) is rigged. These factors, cumulatively, could lead to an increase in voter apathy as the perception that political parties are too concerned with internal power struggles rather than the voter could emerge.”

Kotze said the ANC would “most likely” take all these municipalities, but the percentage remained the question. “We have seen a decline in the support for the ANC provincially by as much as 10%. This is significant, considering the Eastern Cape is seen as the birthplace and heartland of the ANC. Therefore, we may see a decline in the percentage of votes to the ANC and an increase in the opposition, (but) the ANC is still most likely to take the municipalities.”

She did suggest, however, that Cope could be a strong player in municipalities like Buffalo City. “They could be strong contenders for the official opposition. The UDM has been very quiet and has also declined significantly, nationally and provincially, in percentages.”

Rhodes University , said the most significant contests had taken place in the run- up to the elections in the struggle over party lists. “How the outcomes of these factional contests will affect voters is worth considering. They may also affect turnout, as people boycott candidates rather than vote for other parties.”

Fort Hare University politics lecturer Lwazi Lushaba predicted although there would not be a “dramatic change” in the balance of power at the Buffalo City Municipality, the DA was likely to see a “favourable increase” in votes.

“There is obvious discontent about how the municipality has been governed over the years and the internal differences in the ANC have negatively affected the smooth running of Buffalo City. The political structure of the municipality has dragged the administration into a vortex of disorder.”

Lushaba said because the DA was the only other “viable party” it would stand to benefit from the disorder.