One of the things that I have always guarded against is in making comparisons between Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay.
One always runs the risk of being seen as someone from the apartheid era whenever one points out the better management of anything in the city to the west of us.
Throwing caution to the winds I am going to compare Cape Town’s dam level reporting in contrast to Nelson Mandela Bay’s dam level reporting.
In the days after the flooding events in both cities I saw Cape Town ramp up their reporting from every week or so to every day or so for a total of 10 reports thus far.
In contrast the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has not bothered to update dam levels since 8 May.
27 May 2026 UPDATE: After writing this piece late on 26 May the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality – for the first time since 8 May – updated the latest dam levels. Coincidence?
Running two city focused publications in MyCape Town and MyNMB I find myself in the precarious position of comparing the press releases from both and, frankly, Nelson Mandlea Bay cannot hold a candle to the City of Cape Town.
As someone totally committed to Nelson Mandela Bay I have run out of tears of frustration watching the slow (but accelerating) decline of our beloved city.
One gets the distinct impression that Nelson Mandela Bay has no leader, no champion, no direction and no bloody future.
