How will AIM govern

How will AIM govern when the metro’s resident’s give it a mandate to do so? 

Many ask whether we will form a coalition with Party X or Party Y, but there’s a primary question to be asked before that: how would we govern and how will we turn residents’ votes into making the metro work? 

And here’s our commitment: 

1. We will co-create a uniting vision: As the metro that is the most segregated of its kind in South Africa, we believe this special place, named after Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, a global icon of reconciliation, peace, and global leadership, can, with your support, be a champion for that uniting and compelling vision to create a better society. Through improving governance, innovative engagement and ensuring a just and transformative leadership culture in our public service, this means we must work hard to align with that vision. Join us and together, we will. 

2. We will listen: We will listen to what communities are saying, we will listen to what municipal officials say, we will listen to experts in the specific area we are working on and act in concert with the best available data and solutions to move our metro forward 

3. We will choose the right people for the right job and hold them accountable: No more jobs for pals, jobs for the connected, that serve the bank accounts of individuals and their handlers and do not serve the people. Does the person have the necessary skills to be solution-orientated, work in a dynamic and demanding context across contexts and cultures? More so, does the person have the heart to bring out the absolute best for our metro? Those are the people we need to work in our municipality. And once in place everyone will need a performance agreement that is clear about their role, their expected performance and managed accordingly 

4. We will not reinvent the wheel: What insights into the metro already exist? What does the law say? What’s best practice elsewhere? Most certainly where problems persist and innovative solutions are required, we will be at the forefront of change, but the change we are most focused on is simply that we make sure that things are done the right way, the first time. Where we fail, we will learn from our mistakes and improve on our efforts. 

5. We will find the best fit for Nelson Mandela Bay: What solution will work best for our residents in our metro? It may look good in Cape Town or Jozi or New York, but is it the best fit for our needs and our circumstances? This Metro is unique, and as such we need our own solutions that speak to our way of getting things done. 

6. We are guided by living within our means but building potential for the future: Do we have the money for it? What will it cost the metro in the long run? Will our resident’s get their money’s worth? And if we do not have the money, we will work at finding ways do it. Until then we make do with what we have, as does every home across our metro. But we are mindful that we need to aspire and build partnership for the future and act on opportunities that moves us forward economically 

7. We will act (consistently): Every year we get input from our residents on the plan for the next year and feedback on the year past. Every year we then budget accordingly and then we make sure the municipality takes those budgets and turns it into action. No waiting for the last minute to slip in dubious service providers and projects. Listen, plan, budget, act. Every year. If necessary, we will provide mid-year updates on progress milestones and inform our residents accordingly. 

8. We will drive continuous improvement: As is the practice in all our factories across the metro, we will seek out feedback on our performance and then we take action to improve the systems. And we keep on doing so, year after year to build towards our collective vision as a metro. 

9. We will walk the talk: Check out our constitution, see how we run things in AIM, see how we respond to criticism. We believe we should be models of the behavior we expect from residents and municipal officials. We aren’t perfect, by no means, but we are committed to service and accountability. And that means we hold ourselves accountable to our AIM values and our AIM constitution. Importantly, our public representatives will uphold their oath of office to serve in the best interest of the residents in the council. 

10. We will work with those who share our commitment to resident’s first: Our city cannot be governed off the interests of one constituency only. We have to find ways of constructively working with others. AIM will work tirelessly to unite our residents, regardless of our past and current struggles, to create a vibrant, safe, and inclusive metro. We will serve as per the mandate the residents choose to give us. We will drive our mandated plan for getting the metro working, whether that means sitting on the back benches of council or in positions of leadership. Our drive and aspiration as a residents-based movement is to ensure that we partner with civil society, youth formations, business, labor and academia to ensure a council truly representative of the will of our people in all its potential.