The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape is committed to pioneering new and innovative ways of engaging the public on important issues in government.
Yesterday, 11 June 2020, the DA made history by hosting the first-ever Virtual Town Hall meeting in the history of the Eastern Cape.
This Virtual Town Meeting was broadcast live on Facebook, where I was joined by DA Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Caucus Leader, Cllr Jonathan Lawack, DA NMB Spokesperson for Budget and Treasury, Dr. Malcolm Figg, and DA EC Shadow MEC for Finance, Retief Odendaal, MPL.
During the hour-long session, we discussed the state of service in the City, the necessity of electing an Executive Mayor, and what can be expected of the proposed draft municipal budget for the 2020/2021 financial year.
Residents who tuned in to the broadcast could ask questions via the Facebook platform, which our panel members then addressed. Thousands of people viewed the Virtual Town Hall Meeting, which proves that our residents are hungry for information and want to give their input on how their City is being run.
The DA also used this opportunity to launch another first – a web page that residents can use to make online budget submissions.
The suggested draft budget by the Metro is a thumb suck that included unaffordable rates increases of more than 30% over the next 3 years. This is simply untenable during the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
Residents can follow the link below to read a summary of the draft budget and complete a submission form:
The DA will ensure that all submissions are collated and delivered to the Municipality.
Another innovative measure the DA undertook during lockdown is being the first political party to hold several virtual press conferences.
Important topics such as Defeating Day Zero in NMB and the Kouga Municipality, the health crisis and the impact of Covid-19 on the province, and our budget proposals and economic recovery plan for Nelson Mandela Bay were made public and reported on in the media.
Day Zero in the Metro could be reached by November, and the ANC-led coalition of corruption NMB administrations seems to be clueless in dealing with this disaster. The DA was the first party to launch a web page dedicated to fighting Day Zero in Nelson Mandela Bay and the Kouga Municipality:
https://www.da.org.za/defeat-day-zero-in-nmb
Through this web page, residents can keep up to date with the most recent news and dam levels, receive water-saving tips, and submit questions about the water crisis.
The DA in the Eastern Cape recently confirmed it is also investigating the feasibility of hosting its first-ever virtual provincial elective congress.
The DA’s Provincial Elective Congress is scheduled for August this year and under current lockdown regulations such a physical gathering is not permitted.
We will continue to find innovative solutions to the many challenges we face due to the Covid-19 lockdown and will make sure that we fight for the rights of the public to be informed and have their say in how they are governed.