The Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition, representing a broad and non-partisan cross-section of society, including business, labour, civil organisations, faith-based institutions and community structures, stands united in its outrage at the unfolding humanitarian risk caused by a catastrophic failure of leadership in the metro.
Amid severe flooding that poses a direct threat to both human and animal safety, it is utterly unacceptable that the municipality’s emergency fleet has reportedly been left without fuel, effectively grounding critical response operations at the very moment they are needed most. This is not an isolated administrative lapse, it is a dangerous collapse of governance with real and immediate consequences for vulnerable communities.
At the heart of this crisis is a glaring leadership vacuum. The continued failure to appoint an Acting City Manager has paralysed administrative functions, while the Chief Financial Officer, duly appointed by Council, remains unable to execute his responsibilities because his acting appointment letter has not been signed by Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe. This inaction has directly contributed to the absence of a fuel contract, bringing essential services to a standstill and exposing residents to avoidable risk.
It is further reported that the Executive Mayor is currently not in the city during this critical period. While the Deputy Mayor is indeed present in Nelson Mandela Bay, this does little to offset the broader failure to ensure decisive leadership and continuity of governance in a time of crisis. The lack of urgency in resolving key administrative blockages reflects a profound dereliction of duty. Leadership must be visible, responsive and effective when communities are under threat.
The municipality’s Joint Operations Centre (JOC) has repeatedly raised alarms regarding the lack of a fuel contract, yet these warnings appear to have gone unheeded. This raises serious concerns about governance discipline, responsiveness and whether the safety of residents is being treated with the urgency it demands.
This crisis unfolds against the backdrop of deepening governance failures in the metro. Notably, Cyril Ramaphosa recently commended Mayor Lobishe during a visit to Nelson Mandela Bay, even as she prepares to appear before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) today (06 May) to account for persistent administrative and financial shortcomings. These include problematic evergreen contracts, critical senior management vacancies, controversial infrastructure decisions, disputed tenders and chronic underspending of grant funding. The current emergency lays bare the real-world consequences of these unresolved failures.
The Coalition reminds the Eastern Cape Provincial Government that Section 139(5) of the Constitution provides clear recourse where a municipality is unable to meet its obligations to provide basic services or manage its financial affairs. Nelson Mandela Bay has reached that point. The inability to secure fuel for emergency services during a disaster, coupled with ongoing administrative paralysis, constitutes a serious and sustained breach of its obligations.
We therefore call on the Provincial Executive to urgently intervene and consider invoking constitutional measures to restore governance, functionality and public confidence. Communities cannot be left to bear the cost of political inaction and administrative incompetence.
This is not merely a governance failure – it is a humanitarian crisis. Every hour lost to indecision places lives, livelihoods, and already vulnerable communities in greater danger.
The Coalition demands immediate answers:
- Why has no Acting City Manager been appointed in a time of crisis?
- Why has the CFO’s acting authority not been formalised to enable critical financial decisions?
- Why were repeated warnings about the fuel contract ignored?
- And how will the metro urgently restore fuel supply to its emergency fleet?
The residents of Nelson Mandela Bay deserve leadership that is present, accountable and capable, especially when it matters most.
Monga Peter (Chairperson of NMBCSC)
