Madam Speaker, members of the Mayoral Committee, fellow Councillors, the Municipal Manager and all officials, The Clergy, business community, ward committee members, school learners and their teachers, the media and members of the public, I greet you all.

Twenty years ago the history of our country took a different bearing when the most famous political prisoner in the world, Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Prison with his fist raised in the air. This year and in particular this month, we celebrate the release of South Africa’s first democratic President.

On that Sunday afternoon, the raised fist symbolised victory to millions of South Africans and the international community who had supported the struggle to end apartheid. It was a moment worth all the sacrifices made, blood spilled and bullets encountered. As Makana Municipality we wish to pay a special tribute to Former President Mandela and many others who made it possible for us to be where we are today.

Embracing responsiveness and the spirit of the rainbow nation displayed by Madiba, the decision to bring this important function on the Municipality’s calendar to this Ward is an indication to its people that they are not forgotten. The Coloured community should never feel lesser citizens compared to other races of our Municipality.

Last year during our IDP roadshows, the people of Ward 10 and 11 complained that drugs and alcohol were destroying their community. I vividly remember a young man that stood up and said a lack of recreational facilities was one of the reasons there was an increase of substance abuse. I commit myself that the construction and upgrade of recreational facilities is on the agenda and soon there will be visible intervention.

Madam Speaker as the Municipality we operate within 5 Key Performance Areas to speed up service delivery and to manage our finances properly. December 2007 was the deadline for bucket eradication in the country as set by the ANC led government. After a successful execution of the bucket eradication process, we managed to remove all buckets except one area, Extension 6 in Joza. As council we regret the hardship caused by the legal battle between the Municipality and the service provider in finalising the project.

It was a battle that we had to fight in order to prevent our people from receiving substandard services from these service providers. I am delighted to announce that those buckets are being done away with.

The VIP toilets will also be phased out as part of government plans of upgrading sanitation. Currently we are in a process of awarding a tender for the installation of sewer lines in Hlalani to replace the VIP toilets. We are closing the final chapter on the bucket system which for many years was used degrade certain sections of our communities.

Still on the subject of service delivery, a housing development that came to a halt in Kwandancama is expected to resume. This project had to be abandoned due to human remains that were discovered during construction work. After calling for individuals with knowledge of the bones found, as required by law, we have buried the human remains at Luvuyo Hall where there are other bones buried.

Our rural development programme will continue to bring relief to people living in rural areas as we seek to intensify it by assisting those communities with sustainable rural development. A service provider has been commissioned to draft the extended public works programme through rural development programmes. The Municipality hopes to yield incentives from EPWP which can be ploughed back into the Municipality.

Madam Speaker I’m pleased with the notable progress when it comes to the Local Economic Development of our Municipality. With special reference to the kaolin project, in 2009 the Makana Mining Forum was established to facilitate the establishment of a community Trust.
The Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) in partnership with Makana Municipality has commissioned Urban Econ to conduct a study on mining initiatives undertaken in at least three municipalities and then advise on benchmarks and practices for our own Municipality. The study will pay particular attention to legal agreements, institutional arrangements and community involvement.

We are all aware of the imminent power crisis in our country as we were subjected to insistent power outages early last year. Availability or lack thereof of electricity has a negative impact on the Gross Domestic Product of the country and certainly the ability of a Municipality like ours to attract investors or tourists. It is for these reasons and others that the Municipality is intending to enter into an agreement to develop a wind farm project. At the appropriate stage community members will be mobilised on how to become trust members and shareholders on this alternative power supply initiative.

While attempting to source alternative energy, it is worth mentioning that a move towards the electrification of rural areas is another project that is progressing well. We want to close the gap between the people of Makana leaving in rural areas and the urban areas when it comes to the provision of services.

Last week we received good news for many people of Makana, particularly bus commuters. Our consulting engineer indicated that the Municipality has been granted permission by the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority to proceed with the development of the bus terminus in Grahamstown.

The detractors of this project have repeatedly suggested that we should use the old train station as a bus stop. After all we are building a bus stop and not a terminus with busses based permanently around the clock. Their argument is that the area we earmarked for this development is a heritage site and such a development would have a negative impact on tourists.

This development is not just about providing shelter to bus commuters but responds to pleas of the majority of our people to have access to ablution facilities within the Central Business District. There will be underground toilets in Bathurst Street so as not to spoil the architectural beauty of the vicinity but to complement it with the new building.

Madam Speaker allow me to also talk on the Auditor General’s Annual Report. It is with regret to announce here that for the second year in a row, we received an Adverse Opinion. Simply put this means the way we do things are not acceptable. Directorates have already started their strategic sessions as an attempt to improve the audit opinion for 2009/10 financial year. The Local government turn around strategy for the municipality-will dictate transformation within the institution.

 Further in improving the AG’s audit opinion, the Municipal Manger’s office is championing the Information Communication and Technology infrastructure. Key in this project is the integrated information management system. We have roped in Cacadu district municipality to assist in this regard. Sites to host the Municipality’s server have already been identified and one would have noticed a tender on Monday 22 February 2010, calling for the building of a computer room.

This will ensure that the Municipal data is secure. The implementation of the recovery plan will also be looked at to ensure the sustainability of this project, a post for a System Administrator will be created and filled before the end of this financial year. At this point we wish to acknowledge the interactive discussions with Rhodes University that led to where we are now with the revival of the Municipality ICT infrastructure.

One of the measures is to improve the audit opinion is the coordination of litigations in the Municipal Manager’s office. We now have a litigation register in place and this has not only assisted the Municipality from unnecessary legal expenses but assists in quantifying future liabilities.

Due to lack of the much anticipated summer rains and severe drought in our area, we are left with no option but to take drastic measures to preserve the little water that we have in our reserves. The Municipal Manager’s office is working on a Save our Water Campaign.

We want to drill the message to all residents to use water wisely or face dire consequences. We intend to be strict when it comes to the enforcement of the water restrictions that came into effect on 14 September 2009. What is paramount is that people should first appreciate the situation we find ourselves in and take necessary action and not because they fear the fine the law enforcers will impose

Our partnership with schools of saving water by fixing all the leaks is yielding results. We intend to work with schools to take the message home of the draught in our area.

On some positive news, today we are 104 days away from the kick off of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. The 12 of June 2010 seemed like a day that would never arrive when the President of Fifa, Joseph Blatter opened that envelop with the name of South Africa guaranteeing us the rights to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. That eventful day was 15 May 2004, on a Saturday and already the country has benefited immensely from the 2010 legacy projects.

We may not be a host city of any National team or world cup matches, but we have positioned our Municipality to capitalise on the vast number of tourists that will descend on our shores. The National Arts Festival will be 15 days longer this year compared to the normal 10. This will coincide with the Public Viewing Area that will be run in Makana. I invite you all to support our national team and Football Fridays by wearing our Bafana Bafana jerseys on Fridays.

I am delighted to announce that true to our title, Africa’s Festival Capital, the Makana Freedom Festival will once again be celebrated this year. A variety of sporting and cultural activities will be on display. Following a successful rugby match at Miki Yili stadium on 10 February 2010 between EP and Border Rugby Unions, the Rugby Mayoral Cup will be revived in partnership with the South Eastern District Rugby Union. 

In closing Madam Speaker, the launch of the Municipality’s new logo couldn’t have come at a more opportune time as thousands of festival goers and soccer lovers will be here soon. We hope it will make them to always remember our Municipality and return as investors or tourists.

I thank you.