A Task Force Focused on Positive Change

Dear Fellow residents of Nelson Mandela Bay.

This year’s election presents us with a unique opportunity. We can put an end to years of corruption and maladministration which have led our Metro to its current state – mired in decay.

In a sense that state is our fault because election after election we have always voted on the basis of political sentiment – and politics is the biggest problem in the sphere of local government.

You would be horrified for instance to learn how much our Council has spent on legal fees alone in the midst of political wrangling between the represented parties, and between the Council and the Bhisho provincial government since the last election.

The fact speaks volumes that we have had five mayors in five years, and the current mayor had to be elected twice because of the internecine strife between the politicians. And these are public representatives who should have been more concerned about the core business of the municipality, which is to serve the interests of residents and the businesses which create jobs for our people.

But then again that’s a situation of our own making. We keep voting the same parties back into power, in essence giving them a mandate to carry on with the tomfoolery.

In this election the organisation I lead, Abantu Integrity Movement (AIM), brings a different paradigm to the table.

First of all we are not a political party, we are a civic movement. That construct on its own says our focus is solely on the nuts-and-bolts of municipal business. We are the people of potholes, streetlights, garbage removal, safe drinking water and so forth. We do not have time for political demagoguery.

Secondly, the people who serve in AIM have professional occupations, run their own small businesses and generally possess life skills to sustain themselves. They will not be going to Council simply to hold a job or for a lifetime career in politics.

They are ordinary people like yourself who have decided that enough is enough, they can’t watch from the sidelines anymore while the rot in the municipality gets worse. Their ethos is that we should all be part of the change we want to see. Unlike the politicians, they will be bringing to their positions a wealth of experience from the real world.

Over the past few weeks you will have watched on television political parties spending millions on lavish manifesto launches. AIM does not have a manifesto, because that is nothing but a menu of unfulfilled promises that gets repackaged for every election.

Ask yourself what happened to the promises made in the manifestos that were launched with much fanfare in the last election campaign in 2016. Today our metro is in a worse state five years later, and the same parties responsible for the mess are waving new manifestos in our faces.

At AIM we have a 10-Point Plan of Action to rescue the metro. It is anchored on three key deliverables – end the political circus in the Council, jack up the moribund municipal administration and improve service delivery.

In our midst we also have experienced professionals from the crime fighting environment who have honed our four-pronged community safety strategy. It is common cause that the best development initiatives will not succeed while criminals are marauding on our streets.

To this end I implore you to consider AIM as a residents’ task force that is ready to clean up the mess in the Council and get our municipality working again.

After devoting most of my adult life to the struggle against apartheid I thought I had retired from politics and was happily pursuing my private interests. But there comes a time in our lives when we cannot sit and watch from a distance while the future of our children is being destroyed by those in public office who think only of today and put their personal interests first.

That is why I have made myself available to be AIM’s mayoral candidate. It’s not a task I would have wanted, but someone has to do it. It’s in my nature to stand up with fellow patriots against adversity. Maladministration and the looting of public resources are a national emergency. I have the energy to be part of the fight against this scourge against our people.

Clearly there is not much wisdom in doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome or hope for a miracle.

In this election we all have a choice. We can vote for the same parties that are responsible for the current state of decay or we can choose to be part of the movement for change.

At AIM we are determined to stop the rot and return Nelson Mandela Bay to its former glory as a lifestyle city-region of choice and an investor-friendly business destination.

Khusta Jack
Mayoral Candidate
Abantu Integrity Movement.