Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality becoming ‘paralysed gangster state’

DA Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga has come out guns blazing, criticising the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for becoming a “paralysed gangster state”, and wants a rerun of the metro elections.

In a meeting held in the DA’s Port Elizabeth offices on Thursday, Bhanga said the municipality was ruled by fear and the threat of violence under Mayor Mongameli Bobani and his ANC-UDM-EFF coalition.

“The blatant corruption, maladministration, collapse of service delivery and governance has left the DA with no alternative but to turn to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“A notice of intent to implement section 139 has already been served on the metro by Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Xolile Nqatha, and we now urge the provincial government, with the assistance of the national department, to immediately proceed with placing the City under administration,” said Bhanga.

“The Bobani administration was given a deadline of two weeks to reply to the MEC, but this was ignored. Despite this the cooperative governance and traditional affairs department has failed to take any action.

“We are, on behalf of the people, taking this battle to President Ramaphosa, as the DA believes that it is only through dissolving the council and holding a rerun of the elections, that the metro can be saved.”

Though the DA failed to get an outright majority that would enable it to lead the metro, Bhanga said what was currently taking place was not what the people voted for in 2016.

“An intervention is desperately needed to deal with the current incompetent coalition of corruption government,” he said.

“While in government, the DA and its coalition partners, the ACDP and Cope, did all it could to fix the problems in the metro. Only the DA government can save the metro from total collapse.”

Mayoral spokesperson George Geleba confirmed the mayor’s office had not yet received formal correspondence from Bhanga in relation to the provincial intervention in Nelson Mandela Bay.

“It has been reported in the media, but not received by the office. The executive mayor has since sent a follow-up letter to the MEC.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.