We publish the open letter without changes:
Dear Danny,
It is now six days since my open letter to you, urging you to take the people of Nelson Mandela Bay into your confidence and account on allegations of a $10 million bribe from the 2010 Bid Committee which you personally headed.
You have not done so, nor have you penned any sort of reply. In fact you have ducked out of sight, and hidden yourself from any and all public contact in this regard since taking office almost two weeks ago.
As far as the people of the City can see, the part-time Mayor is nowhere to be seen.
While you hide from the people, the ANC in Parliament is shielding you from accountability there. Why would the ANC shield you, if you have nothing to hide?
Surely, Danny, nothing is stopping you from coming clean, being open, presenting the proof and showing South Africa that you are not involved in a $10 million bribe?
For the two weeks you have been in charge of the Bay, you have done nothing but delay progress in this Municipality.
You have delayed the formation of the Mayoral Committee, and seem to be running the show alone without the structure of an executive committee.
You have severely delayed the City’s budget, and with a delayed budget you will cost NMB vital funds to spend on service delivery. Your delays will cost the people directly in delivery.
You have taken zero action against the failed bus system, and the busses still stand rusting in a yard. In fact these busses should have been part of the 2010 World Cup legacy for which you were responsible, and yet they remain a legacy of failed delivery.
You have watched national government swoop in and take over the administration of the housing department, on their terms, due to the state of corruption in your administration’s Housing Department, dictating to our people and cutting local contractors out of home building.
But worse, you have delayed and undermined the public’s confidence in their new leadership. In fact, the Bay is currently without credible leadership.
In 2016 the DA is set on winning Nelson Mandela Bay, and I have been chosen as Mayoral Candidate to serve as a full-time Mayor, to hit the ground running from Day 1.
Nelson Mandela Bay deserves a full-time Mayor, who gets to work from Day 1 and serves with full commitment.
We cannot ignore that the FBI investigation into the bribery scandal is ongoing, and may lead to your indictment in the United States for questioning or deposition in Court.
If you are indicted, or if you are called in for questioning in the USA, what are your contingency plans for governing Nelson Mandela Bay? Will you leave the people leaderless again?
The people of Nelson Mandela Bay deserve much more, and the DA is set on delivering a new hope for our City after the 2016 elections.
Yours sincerely,
Athol Trollip