Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Mayor, Babalwa Lobishe, has kicked off a service delivery resuscitation campaign, which aims to ensure all metro communities receive the services they need.
Aligned with the municipality’s 100-day priorities, the campaign named “Siyasebenza Campaign: A Metro at Work”, focuses on accelerating service delivery and enhancing the quality of life for residents.
Through the Siyasebenza Campaign, Lobishe is calling on local communities, businesses, and non-governmental organisations to collaborate with the municipality to improve service delivery across the metro.
The inclusive campaign, which was rolled out in Kariega this week, will address immediate concerns, including illegal dumping, street cleaning, grass cutting, pothole repairs, fixing streetlights, and upgrading public spaces.
The campaign aims to deliver visible results, while also committing to long-term interventions to ensure sustainable service delivery improvements.
During the launch of the campaign, teams including Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs), and senior officials, were deployed in various groups to cover areas across Kariega and Dispatch.
The teams attended to different service delivery challenges, including blocked sanitation infrastructure, water leaks, flooding, electricity cable theft, and general vandalism.
Speaking to residents in the affected areas that were identified by ward councillors, Lobishe said the municipality was closely monitoring the service delivery challenges faced by the communities and was working to address them.
For longer-term challenges, she said the municipality was developing sustainable solutions.
The Mayor said they were targeting wards in Kariega that were predominantly affected by the floods last year.
“We must, however, express our extreme concern and disappointment at the high levels of vandalism, currently being experienced in Kariega. We call on our people, and law enforcement to work together with us in apprehending these destructive culprits.
“Vandalism of infrastructure slows down service delivery as money meant for other community needs may be redirected to fix infrastructure that has been intentionally damaged by criminals. This does not only negatively affect our financially constrained municipality but prevents the community from enjoying services they so desperately need,” Lobishe said.
Infrastructure and Engineering Acting Executive Director, Joseph Tsatsire, affirmed the municipality’s commitment to accelerating service delivery.
"We shall be mobilising resources to accelerate the pace of service delivery, more especially in the areas identified under this campaign. Our teams are already at work, dealing with issues ranging from sanitation, water leaks and replacing vandalised infrastructure,” Tsatsire said. – SAnews.gov.za
