The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched its Mayoral candidate Elridge Ruiters’ pledge, with a promise to improve service delivery, strengthen financial management and create an environment that can attract investment to Dr. Beyers Naudé Local Municipality.The pledge launch was held at Alex Laing Hall on Friday 11 September, and was attended by local DA members, including DA Dr. Beyers Naudé Constituency Leader and Member of Parliament, Samantha Graham-Mare.
Ruiters identified unemployment, housing and poor basic service delivery as among the biggest challenges facing communities in the Eastern Cape. He said that job creation depends largely on municipalities functioning properly and creating conditions for private-sector investment. According to Ruiters, better governance and planning would also improve housing opportunities and the management of public funds.
On basic services, Ruiters said immediate attention was needed for water, roads and sewerage. Rather than making fixed 100-day promises, he said the DA would focus on addressing urgent problems and introducing clear schedules for road maintenance. He pointed to leaking water infrastructure and potholes as issues requiring practical intervention, while calling for communities to be given schedules showing when road grading, repairs and pothole maintenance would take place. Sewerage was highlighted as a particularly serious concern. Ruiters claimed the municipality was spending more than R4 million a month on sewerage trucks while little money was being spent on replacing ageing sewerage pipes. He argued that replacing broken infrastructure was necessary to address the underlying problem rather than continuously dealing with its consequences.
Focus on jobs and municipal staffing
Ruiters also criticised the municipality’s staffing structure, arguing that there are too many managers and not enough workers on the ground to deliver services. He said the municipality has more than 22 middle and top managers, while vacancies remain in positions directly linked to service delivery. He called for a review of whether municipal staff were being deployed where communities needed them most.
He further proposed bringing the municipal salary budget in line with National Treasury norms and standards, which he said should be between 25% and 35%. Ruiters said municipal leadership should appoint capable senior managers and directors, and introduce clear key performance indicators. Consequence management, he added, would be an important part of assessing municipal leadership and employees.
Electronic system proposed for EPWP jobs
Regarding concerns about employment opportunities and accountability, Ruiters said the DA would introduce an electronic recruitment system for Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) opportunities. He alleged that the current allocation of some opportunities could be influenced by personal relationships and favouritism. Under the proposed system, EPWP participant names would be publicised in advance, allowing members of the community an opportunity to raise objections. Ruiters said communities would have 14 days to appeal if they believed the same individuals were repeatedly receiving opportunities. He stressed that the municipality itself could not create sustainable jobs on the scale required, but could create conditions for businesses, factories and other investors to establish themselves locally.
Promise of consequence management
Ruiters said the DA would take decisive action where maladministration or corruption involving public finances was identified. He also acknowledged the municipality’s financial difficulties, saying the administration would need to examine its spending, reduce wasteful expenditure and ensure that contractors delivered projects on time and within budget. He said the municipality would also need to explore innovative ways of increasing its income while delivering services more efficiently.
Public information a priority
Ruiters further described access to information as a priority, saying communities need to be properly informed about municipal affairs. He stated that, if elected mayor and chairperson of the Executive Committee (EXCO), he would invite newspapers to attend EXCO meetings. The pledge launch therefore placed clean governance, improved basic services, greater transparency and economic development at the centre of the DA’s message to voters ahead of the local government elections.
