Another SA metro in collapse…

Long suffering residents in South Africa's big metros are desperate for new administrations to bring back proper service delivery. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the mayoral candidate for the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) Lance Grootboom tells Chris Steyn: “Nothing is working…the state of Nelson Mandela Bay is not looking good. It needs change. It needs stability. And if that doesn't happen on the fourth of November, I think Nelson Mandela Bay is heading for trouble.” Grootboom describes the achievements of his party when it was in coalition rule twice, but says “since we were removed in May of 2023, everything went backwards in the city and we are sitting now where we are with money in the bank that is only for thirty-five days and can't pay our suppliers.” He blames the instability of the current coalition on the leading party, the African National Congress (ANC), but is confident that a new administration can turn the city around. “We did it with the same staff that the ANC gave us. It's people that were employed over the years by the ANC. We used those same people, provided leadership to them, and you saw the delivery. The same people are now there, but they are unable to deliver under the ANC government.”