ANC told: Shape up or DA will win metros

The ANC has admitted that it might lose control of yet another metro - Nelson Mandela, in Port Elizabeth - to the DA.

The admission was made by Eastern Cape local government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane's at an ANC meeting at the East London International Convention Centre.

The need for the ANC to increase service delivery and end infighting was stressed at the meeting.

Not one of the 45 municipalities in the province received a clean audit report from auditor-general Terence Nombembe .

The ANC controls 44 of the 45 municipal councils and all six district municipalities.

In his report, Qoboshiyane said the ANC's support was dwindling nationwide with the DA making gains.

"In Eastern Cape, the ANC's support decreased from 84.3% in 1994 to 71.3% in 2009.

"More concerning is the Nelson Mandela metro, where the ANC's support dropped from 51.9% whereas the DA's increased from 19.1% to 40.1%.

"Extrapolating this trend to 2014, the ANC could lose the biggest metro," said Qoboshiyane.

Qoboshiyane raised concerns about the urban settlement development grant.

Of the R592-million allocated for the grant, only 53% had been spent by April 2013.

"What we do in service delivery will have a direct impact on how people vote [at next year's elections]," said Qoboshiyane.

According to his report, the province was plagued by:

Shoddy work being the order of the day;

A number of newly built water schemes not functioning and many access roads lasting for only a few months or a year;

A lack of technical capacity, loss of institutional memory, and an inability to attract competent technical skills, all resulting in poor performance by most municipalities; and

Poor planning.

Provincial ANC chairman Phumulo Masualle said: "Each council must sit down and draft a report to be submitted to the ANC regional leadership on how the situation could be remedied. It's treachery not to spend infrastructure grant. It is like committing the most heinous crime. It's like killing somebody.

"This meeting would be in vain if it does not translate into change," said Masualle.

Cosatu's provincial chairman, Mpumelelo Saziwa, warned the ANC's regional, sub-regional and provincial leaders not to interfere with the appointment of municipal officials because this was contributing to the poor audit outcomes.

SA Communist Party provincial chairman Zolile Mrara warned councillors not to use their position to enrich themselves.

"Let's go back to basics [and service communities]," said Mrara.