Eight smaller parties hand NMB government back to the ANC

Today, 22 November 2021, during the inaugural sitting of Council, eight smaller parties in Nelson Mandela Bay handed the Metro back to the ANC. This was done against the wishes of the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay who once again rejected the ANC at the ballot box during the 2021 Local Government Elections.

Voting for these smaller parties was a vote for the ANC.

Last week the DA, as the biggest party in Council, entered into coalition talks with several smaller parties in order to put together a stable majority coalition government that would take Nelson Mandela Bay forward again.

Yesterday, 21 November 2021, these talks fell apart as certain smaller parties shifted the goalposts and demanded positions upon which we could not agree. These positions included all service delivery departments, deputy mayor and Speaker. Last week the DA was prepared to support Cllr Khusta Jack from the Abantu Integrity Movement (AIM) as Speaker but yesterday he joined forces with other smaller parties in making unreasonable demands.

Although an initial agreement was reached last week, it soon became clear that many of these parties are only interested in positions and do not have the best interests of our residents at heart.

The DA will not enter into any coalition with parties that do not share our principles and values and that will inevitably lead to an unstable government.

We will now focus on being a strong, effective and unrelenting opposition to ensure transparency and good governance where we can.

The DA believes that the people of Nelson Mandela Bay deserve uninterrupted good governance for the next five years. We need to prevent chaos and instability, but this cannot be achieved by rushing into an unstable minority coalition government.

The DA would like to thank the ACDP and the FF+ for remaining true to their commitment to support good governance and reject the ANC.

We will now take up our place in the opposition benches and we promise to be an excellent opposition that will fight for the rights of our residents and the service delivery they deserve.