UNCOOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE: Coalition partners snub NMB mayor’s State of the Metro Address

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe’s State of the Metro Address – delivered at a gala dinner estimated to have cost ratepayers R235,000 – was boycotted not only by opposition parties but by several of her coalition partners, as the metro battles water, electricity and financial crises weeks before residents go to the polls.

In parts of Nelson Mandela Bay, residents have to step over rocks placed in the street to avoid raw sewage spilling into their yards — a hazard that community leaders say has gone unresolved for years .

Suburbs across the metro sometimes go without water for days or weeks at a stretch after repeated infrastructure failures, while a pylon collapse in March left large parts of the city in the dark for close to three weeks.

Against this backdrop, Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe delivered her State of the Metro Address in a Despatch hall on Thursday, 10 September, painting a picture of an administration making progress.

Opposition parties in the metro were, unsurprisingly, quick to reject that assessment. So did several of Lobishe’s own coalition partners, including the EFF, which boycotted the address – delivered at a gala dinner that Lobishe said cost R235,000 in ratepayers’ money.

Nelson Mandela Bay has seen three government changes since the start of the term of office in 2021, which has resulted in instability and ultimately the deterioration of service delivery – worsened by the revolving door of city managers for nearly three years.

The problems extend beyond water and electricity, with broken streetlights , dilapidated roads and a housing development backlog compounded by the metro’s inability to spend allocated grant funds .

The municipality is also struggling to address its ballooning unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure ( UIFWE ) bill dating back more than a decade, which has become a contentious matter with the National Treasury.

In her address, Lobishe highlighted what she described as the positive strides achieved by the ANC-led coalition during its term in office.

She also acknowledged significant challenges, including ageing infrastructure , vandalism , financial pressures, institutional capacity challenges and economic uncertainty.

The event was boycotted by opposition parties, including the DA – which protested outside the venue – ACDP, Good, UDM and PA, which called it a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Coalition partners the EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance and African Independent Congress also stayed away.

EFF Eastern Cape chairperson Zilindile Vena said the party had taken a “principled decision” not to attend because residents were still battling unemployment, poverty and serious service-delivery challenges, including water outages and leaks, sanitation and drain spillages, deteriorating roads and persistent electricity problems.

“We cannot celebrate what our people are still being forced to endure,” said Vena, adding that the EFF’s participation in the coalition did not amount to a “blank cheque” for the administration’s every decision.