For residents navigating sewage-flooded streets, and businesses operating without reliable water or electricity, the assertion that Nelson Mandela Bay is “stabilising” does not reflect lived realities.
In a recent question and answer session in Parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa was asked about comments he made in May this year, when he said Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe “was doing very well and was stabilising” the metro. Asked to explain further in the recent Q&A, he clarified that progress was being made in several areas, but that the government wanted to see “better and faster progress on key issues”.
However, this view contrasts sharply with those of civil society groups and organised business, which describe a city on the brink of structural collapse.
Nelson Mandela Bay has had 12 acting city managers since 2021. Its last city manager, Dr Noxolo Nqwazi, was suspended in 2023.
Nqwazi was arrested by the Hawks in September 2022 alongside several officials and businesspeople. They face charges including corruption, money laundering, fraud and contraventions of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
The auditor-general’s local government audit outcomes report for the 2024/25 financial year, released in June, found that non-revenue water losses in the metro stood at 63%, while non-revenue electricity losses were 33%.
Expenditure on repairing municipal infrastructure amounted to just 2.5% of the value of the municipality’s assets, well below the National Treasury-prescribed benchmark of 8%.
Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition spokesperson Zukile Madikane said the organisation could not reconcile the president’s comments with the realities faced by residents.
“The metro is regressing on every service delivery front. This week, we received a report showing that wastewater treatment works are being poorly managed, meaning untreated sewage is being pumped into the sea. People’s homes are flooded with sewage daily, yet their taps are also dry.
“We have written to him and Cogta (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) about what is happening here, but they never engage with people when they come here, which basically means they are talking to themselves.
“Roads are full of potholes. The city is dark, traffic lights are not working and sewage is flowing through the streets. There are areas in the northern suburbs that have gone weeks without water.
“Electricity is off daily in parts of Motherwell. All the infrastructure is collapsing, and that is our reality,” he said.
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen said tangible results were yet to emerge from the national government’s Section 154 intervention in the metro.
“The municipality’s track record speaks for itself as having the highest accumulated unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure of any metro in the country at a staggering R23 billion.
“Moreover, the auditor-general’s report on the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality further reinforces these severe shortcomings, the significant financial losses, massive irregular expenditure, severe governance challenges and administrative instability.”
Van Huyssteen said the situation required urgent action.
“Regardless of who the coalition of the day is and the outcome of the November local government elections, we require absolute urgency by the relevant authorities to take the actions which are in the best interests of the businesses and residents of the metro.
“As organised business, we strongly believe that this is the most fixable metro in South Africa, and we remain committed to collaborating with the various stakeholders to address these critical issues.
“We have demonstrated consistently our commitment through the mobilisation of business volunteers in driving geographic clusters, task teams and action-oriented desks to find solutions to key challenges and unlock the potential of the Bay.”
Municipal councillor Lance Grootboom said the harsh realities on the ground did not suggest progress was being made.
“According to the July financial reporting, the metro’s cost coverage ratio has plummeted, leaving a paltry 1 month and 20 days, just 55 days, of cash in the bank – far below healthy financial norms and a clear sign of impending bankruptcy,” said Grootboom.
“There is currently not a single permanent Executive Director (ED) in any municipal department. Every single department is run by acting personnel, with several stretching far beyond legal regulatory thresholds, leaving institutional memory shattered.
“The electricity department is drowning under a staggering R1.5 billion in financial losses, while every single trading department operates at a punishing deficit.”
Last month, Cogta deputy minister Namane Masemola issued a stern warning to the leadership at Gqeberha City Hall that a Section 139 intervention was on the cards if they failed to turn the struggling metro around.
A Section 139 intervention would allow the provincial government to intervene in the administration of the municipality.
Masemola was speaking on the sidelines of an intervention meeting between Cogta and the municipality, as part of support provided since December 2025. Cogta had deployed a 10-member team comprising specialists in financial management, supply chain management, infrastructure, municipal public accounts committees and oversight.
The team completed a diagnostic assessment and identified 101 issues requiring urgent intervention. Masemola was asked to account for the progress made in addressing these key areas.
In response to questions from The National, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said that, while there were challenges, work was being done, pointing to a R1.853 billion capital programme for 2026/27 focused on water, electricity, roads, sanitation and waste management.
Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the concerns raised were being addressed through funded interventions, including R226.1 million for reducing water losses and more than R739 million for ward-based infrastructure projects.
He also highlighted progress including the repair of 32,654 water leaks, replacement of 18,340 metres of water pipes, improved capacity at Fishwater Flats wastewater treatment works and a drop in reported electricity outages from 330 in May to 173 in June.
“The municipality does not claim that the challenges facing Nelson Mandela Bay have disappeared. What we are saying is that the council and administration are confronting these challenges through funded interventions and practical work across the Metro,” he said.
ntsikelelo.qoyo@nationalmg.co.za