More manpower and resources are required from the provincial and national governments to end shootings and gang-related crime in Nelson Mandela Bay.
This was emphasised by mayor Retief Odendaal and speaker Gary van Niekerk during a media briefing on Monday at which they provided an update on the work of the council.
Van Niekerk said crime was a concern not only in Gqeberha’s townships and suburbs but also in Kariega and the northern areas.
He said in the past few weeks the metro had been rocked by mass murders and ongoing violence and it was time for the Bay to reclaim its moniker as “The Friendly City”.
“We cannot be a city that is now the capital of mass murders.
“We are busy with a plan to mitigate and fight gangsterism and crime.”
He said police minister Bheki Cele and premier Oscar Mabuyane had committed to assisting with funds and manpower.
The northern areas had become a war zone, Van Niekerk said.
“It’s not going to be an overnight thing but the city will be different.
“We have met with the Metro Police and discussed their challenges.
“But we do need a lot more resources and it can’t be business as usual with all that is happening because I don’t feel safe myself,” he said.
He said another media conference would be held to detail the plans to combat the crime.
Sharing Van Niekerk’s sentiments, Odendaal said fighting crime was not the municipality’s job but the metro could assist the police by providing them with certain tools.
Odendaal said crime also affected officials, who were unable to deliver services in some areas due to attacks.
“We are creating two Nelson Mandela Bays.
“One where it is easier to give certain communities access to services and other where it is difficult to do the work because officials are scared to go to certain communities.”
The mayor said he struggled to get workers to attend to service issues in areas such as Helenvale and Soweto-on-Sea.
“The plan now is the communities must start taking action and responsibility to protect the officials because they work for them and are meant to serve them.”
Turning to the work of the council, Van Niekerk said there were no outstanding items, and all reports from committees that held meetings up to December had been dealt with.
Some of the items approved since September included:
- Twenty-six budget amendments had been enacted;
- The policy review process had commenced;
- Eighty-two land use applications had been considered;
- Five permanent MBDA directors were appointed;
- A safety sector had been established on the beachfront; and
- A solar high-mast lighting pilot project had been initiated.
“I can proudly share that as the speaker of the council under the current coalition government, we have started to bring back dignity and productivity to our council meetings.
“The last two council meetings (February 2 and January 17) are a testament to this, with all agenda items considered and debates conducted robustly, yet civilly.
“The regular sitting of council meetings that are productive and able to pass items that put service delivery at the forefront is a feature we wish to make a hallmark of this coalition government.”
Council meetings last year often ended in chaos, with many complaints.
This led to co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Zolile Williams initiating a process to change the governance system in the metro, which would force the DA and the ANC to work together to govern.
The DA in the Bay filed a two-part application in the Gqeberha high court to challenge the move late in 2022.
This was after the gazetting of a Section 12 notice in terms of the Municipal Structures Act by Williams on December 12.
The first part of the court application, which sought to suspend the implementation of Section 12 and for the coalition government to remain in place in the interim, succeeded on December 30, when the parties reached a settlement.
They agreed on the temporary suspension of the Section 12 change and for the coalition government to remain in place pending a court hearing on February 16.
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