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Dear Editor The DA in Nelson Mandela Bay has written to the Speaker and Acting City Manager urging an immediate intervention in the coalition government’s attack on press freedom. On Wednesday, a local journalist was removed from a Nelson Mandela Bay Mayoral Committee meeting at the insistence of the ANC, a partner in the Metro’s collapsing and ineffective coalition government. The journalist was removed during an important session where matters of public importance and service delivery … [Read more...] about NMB’s Press Bullies

[Hear Yusuf Cassim MPL speak on this HERE] Dear Editor The shocking treatment of the Arington family during a National Intervention Unit (NIU) raid in Nelson Mandela Bay’s Northern Areas has raised serious questions about the conduct and accountability of the NIU since its deployment to the Eastern Cape. Yesterday, I visited the family and witnessed firsthand the trauma they endured during the two-hour assault. The DA strongly condemns the actions of the NIU members, who reportedly … [Read more...] about Action Demanded After Alleged Assault And Islamophobic Slurs By SAPS’ National Intervention Unit

Dear Editor The transfer of Nelson Mandela Bay’s (NMB) municipal lease portfolio to the troubled municipal entity, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA), further highlights the extent of state capture within the Eastern Cape’s largest metro. This week, the Acting City Manager, Mandla George, approved the transfer of the lease portfolio to the MBDA, giving the entity control over a property portfolio valued at an estimated R2–R3 billion, with leases worth hundreds of millions of … [Read more...] about Transfer of NMB Municipal Lease Portfolio to MBDA Raises Red Flags

Dear Editor The Eastern Cape's financial challenges are becoming more critical. The province is battling with an ever-increasing wage bill, a lack of investment in infrastructure, a lack of self-revenue generation, and provincial entities draining the fiscus with no real return. This has resulted in significant financial shortfalls that have repeatedly forced the Provincial Treasury to dip into the province’s reserves. With financial shortfalls deepening and vital services hanging in the … [Read more...] about Eastern Cape’s Financial Crisis Deepens

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned by the response from Community Safety MEC Xolile Nqatha regarding the number of arrests and convictions concerning gang-related murders in the Northern Areas. In response to an oral question in the Legislature yesterday, the MEC said that 181 arrests were made in connection with 142 cases between January 2019 and August 2024, resulting in only 62 convictions. While this may seem like progress, it pales in comparison to the 985 … [Read more...] about Mec’s Response Shows Alarming Failure To Address Gang-Related Murders In Northern Areas

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls for the Public Protector to investigate the delayed construction of the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance in Hankey in the Eastern Cape, which has been mired in mismanagement and inefficiency for over a decade. Despite more than R200 million being spent and three contractors assigned to the project, the centre remains incomplete. Disputes with contractors and shoddy workmanship have stalled progress, and it is vital that those responsible … [Read more...] about Public Protector Must Investigate Delayed Construction of Sarah Baartman Centre

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the commencement of the Department of Transport’s work on MR00391, the Humansdorp-Hankey Road, marking a significant R218 million investment in the Kouga Local Municipality. Yesterday, DA Kouga constituency leader Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL and I visited the site where work officially began. This project is crucial for improving transport infrastructure in the Eastern Cape and represents an essential step forward in cooperation between local … [Read more...] about Progress on Kouga Road Rehabilitation Project Welcomed

Editor: I recall similar incidents of theft from this facility around 30 years ago - at the time the security were stumped until someone discovered that the thieves were emerging from underground. Apparently they were using the huge pipes that used to transport water along Harrower Road from the North End Lake to the Power Station at the bottom of Mount Road. At the time the municipality welded the drain covers shut and the thefts stopped. Could it be the same MO today?   Dear Editor The … [Read more...] about Urgent Intervention Needed in NMB Cable Theft Crisis

Dear Editor The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned by recent reports of corruption, tender manipulation, and political interference at Amatola Water. The forensic report detailing secret meetings between Amatola Water's leadership, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, David Mahlobo, and a politically connected businessperson threatens to destabilise water security in the Eastern Cape further. These revelations underscore the DA’s long-standing concerns regarding Amatola … [Read more...] about Amatola Water Corruption Threatens Eastern Cape Water Security

Dear Editor The R75 between Gqeberha and Uitenhage/Kariega has claimed yet another two victims in two unrelated accidents over the weekend. The latest fatalities follow days after the DA has yet again warned SANRAL that their failure to maintain this road is putting lives at risk. Since January this year there has been various correspondence as well as media reports on SANRAL’s continued failure to maintain this dangerous stretch of road. SANRAL has previously cited various excuses as to … [Read more...] about NMB Killer Road Claims Another Two Victims

Dear Editor Despite the 50th celebration of the Volkswagen GOLF, there is surprisingly still not a single model thereof that is in honour & homage of the original designer of that car's very first generation, namely: Giorgetto Giugiaro. It seems that the stereotypical German bigotry is at play, since the said Giugiaro is Italian and the Scirocco is the closest model name that has come close to an Italian moniker attached to a VW model; or any non-Germanic named VW model for that … [Read more...] about VW Golf 50th Anniversary

Dear Editor Hillary Rodham-Clinton, incidentally the first and greatest Woman President that the United States of America [USA] never had, put it simply what a statesman is: " The statesman thinks about the next generation, whilst the politician thinks about the next elections". It is therefore a great guideline for everyone that is still blinded by the motives of politicians, whom are primarily Clout, Fame & Relevance seekers; if not and/or outright Money, Status & Relevance … [Read more...] about The Greatest Woman President that the USA…