Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Nelson Mandela Bay has put together a five-point plan that can be rolled out immediately to ensure the safety of tourists and residents during the Metro's summer season. Today, 22 November 2023, I was joined by DA NMB Spokesperson for Economic Development and Tourism, Cllr Renaldo Gouws, and DA NMB Spokesperson for SRAC, Cllr Sebenzile Rafani, in presenting this plan at the Hobie Beach Lifesaving Club in Gqeberha. [Download pictures here and … [Read more...] about Summer Season Safety Plan for Nelson Mandela Bay

Dear Editor The brutal and senseless killing of former DA staff member and activist, Justice Jama, on the night of 18 November must be condemned in the strongest terms, and those responsible must swiftly be brought to justice. Mr Jama, who witnessed a murder last month and was going to testify, was gunned down in his home in Greenfields, Kariega, last night by callous and cowardly criminals in what is alleged to be a hit to silence him. His murder, sadly, highlights the violent crime … [Read more...] about Kariega: Senseless murder of former DA staff member

Dear Editor The bloody crime war rages on in Nelson Mandela Bay, with another four people being shot and killed in one incident over the weekend in Gqeberha. On Sunday, 12 November 2023, four people were killed in Kwadwesi – killings that could have been prevented if the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, had bothered to act on a DA letter requesting urgent intervention last month. We requested that SAPS deploy specialist resources to deal with the ongoing killings and violent crime in … [Read more...] about Bloody crime war rages out of control in Nelson Mandela Bay

Dear Editor "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." quotation from William Shakespeare's Hamlet play came to mind when a proverbial comrade from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was obsfucating and defending the said local government's naïve yet arrogant obstinance during a NUMSA-chaired Quartely General Meeting [QGM] at Volkswagen's Engine Plant about two months ago. I sincerely felt sorry for her as she seemingly did not believe in the script she was apparently delegated by her … [Read more...] about Electricity Apparent Racketeering

Dear Editor The ANC-led Eastern Cape government does not care about the children of this province, and nowhere is it more evident than in the Department of Social Development ((DSD). At a time when the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) declared child malnutrition in the province as a disaster, DSD has opted to cut back on spending on food parcels. The SAHRC lambasted the provincial government in a report released this week, stating that the state’s failure to ensure access to … [Read more...] about HRC lambasts EC government over malnutrition

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned about the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s loss of millions of rands due to the theft of tyres that were purchased to increase the capacity of the municipal refuse fleet. On Tuesday, 7 November 2023, at a meeting of the public health committee, it came to light that two batches of tyres were stolen in June and August this year, resulting in the Metro losing R5 million. These financial losses, and the subsequent disruption in … [Read more...] about Nelson Mandela Bay loses millions due to refuse fleet tyre theft

Dear Editor As the cost-of-living crisis spirals out of control across South Africa, the DA-led Kouga Municipality has been able to bring some financial relief to its residents, by lowering water tariffs. Today, 7 November 2023, a Special Council meeting approved the decision to lower the punitive water tariffs that were put in place while the municipality was still in the grip of a debilitating drought. The decision will come into effect at the end of November. The council was able to … [Read more...] about Lower water tariffs will ease financial pressure on residents

Dear Editor The DA in the Sundays River Valley Local Municipality has submitted a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the Chairperson of the Eastern Cape Geographical Name Changes Committee, Christian Martin, requesting the name/s of the applicant/s for the name changes of three towns in the municipality. The names proposed are Nqweba for Kirkwood, Sparrowville for Enon and Nqatu for Addo. On 15 June 2023, the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and … [Read more...] about Nqweba, Sparrowville, and Nqatu: Proposed name changes to towns in Sundays River Valley

Dear Editor A critical water canal responsible for securing 70% of Nelson Mandela Bay's (NMB) water supply will only be repaired by April 2024, some seven years after collapsing. Repair work will also significantly disrupt the city's water supply for up to three weeks. The canal in the lower Sundays River Valley, which is a lifeline to both the farming community in the valley and NMB, collapsed in 2017. Temporary measures have kept it operational since then. Although this is one of our … [Read more...] about Critical EC water canal only to be completed by April 2024

Dear Editor The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), which is meant to benefit the poor and vulnerable citizens of Nelson Mandela Bay, has become a vehicle for political point-scoring and a cash-cow for connected individuals in the Metro. The ANC/EFF/NA/PA coalition government has reportedly been using the EPWP to create jobs for pals and across the Metro DA ward councillors have been reporting how the programme’s policy has been flouted. The abuse of EPWP funding has created an … [Read more...] about Help sought to expose EPWP corruption in NMB

Dear Editor After 14 years and an investment of R4 billion it seems as if the Nelson Mandela Bay Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) has unfortunately reached the end of the road. The beleaguered transport system was stopped altogether some three months ago leaving some of the poorest communities in Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) stranded without reliable public transport. The DA has a firm position that affordable transport for our poorest communities is a critical link in the opportunity … [Read more...] about Is this the end of the road for Nelson Mandela Bay’s IPTS buses?

Dear Editor Two thumbs up to the fitting of all round electric windows to the spruced up VW Polo GT, as the nonsensical winding mechanism for the back passengers' windows is ridiculous to any car anyway. Maybe, Volkswagen South Africa absorbed too much of former Delta Motor Corporation cum watered-down General Motors South Africa's stylists that seemingly transfered their defunct Opel Astra Euro Series' bland styling into the current Polo Vivo series. However, I am still advocating for the … [Read more...] about VW Polo Confusion

Dear Editor As much as I have observed and experienced that stereotypes are often based on hard facts, I have contrarily tried to turn a blind eye to that assertion after many instance of black people's governance Archilles' Heel being the inability for the Upkeep & Maintenance of citizenry infrastructure. Mother Nature has blessed us with good rainfall off late, which also exposed the poor workmanship and/or components used on our below par road quality. My car bumped past a seemingly … [Read more...] about Metro Matters: Kwa-Dwesi Potholes

Monti, an albeit biased Xhosa-modified mononym given to the one and only South African River Port, gets my two thumbs up vote for the renaming of the duplicated East London name; in lieu of the humdrum Gompo enforcement moniker. Most Xhosa-speakers and the city's citizenry know the alternate Monti name for East London anyway, as opposed to the seemingly fascist-inspired Gompo. The fact remains that despite the shortened name thereof being ostensibly derived from the Afrikaans' Visriviersmond … [Read more...] about Monti Mononym

Dear Editor NMB households continue to be plagued by money wasted on spoiled food, and massive safety concerns amidst a tidal wave of crime due to failing temporary electricity connections that have left them in the dark for weeks on end. These residents are fed up with the incompetence of the NMB administration and have already taken to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction with the lack of service delivery. Instead of addressing the shocking inability of the Electricity and … [Read more...] about No Warm Breakfast, Lunch or Supper for These Households