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During legal proceedings between Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe and former GOOD regional leader Siyanda Mayana, in which the Gqeberha high court granted an urgent interdict preventing former GOOD regional leader Siyanda Mayana from posting defamatory statements on social media about the Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Lobishe also declared; “I can confirm that I lawfully conduct …

We all have seen that the manufacturing industry is a large contributor to Nelson Mandela Bay’s GDP – around 22%. Ghost on the Coast: Now, with all this alarmist doom and gloom talk about limited and misguided policy support for manufacturing possible leading to another ‘Ghost on the Coast‘ scenario as manufacturers shut up shop …

South Africa’s automotive manufacturing industry is estimated to produce less than 0.7% of the global market. That figure is so low that when a global giant like Volkswagen AG reports their monthly sales figures they do not even bother to report the production/sales figures for South Africa OR Africa as a whole. Petty Cash: In …

People of a certain age will remember the day that the Ford factory closed in then Port Elizabeth. At one stroke people lost their jobs, suppliers closed down and PE became the ‘ghost on the coast’ with many people saying; “Will the last person to leave please free the dolphins and switch the lights off!” …

As a liberal white male South African with limited struggle credentials there are two words in common usage in South Africa that, to this day, still make me feel uneasy whenever I use them. In fact there are even racist jokes made around them – one involving Jacob Zuma and his fire pool, lots of …

A while back I embarked on a public experiment to compare the ROI between a basket of two ETF’s placed in two different investment vehicles – Taxed and Tax Free. For the sake of demonstration I choose to invest small monthly amounts in Satrix Top 40 and DIVI Plus and chart the progress over time …

Once you have finished reading pop along to Straton Solar – you may need them very soon. With reference to this warning by Retief Odendaal: NMB Electricity Infrastructure Nears Total Collapse – here is what my late mate, Tony – who used to work at the NMB Electricity Department – said ad nauseum: About Sub …

In February 2026, a significant fraud case involving a Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) municipal contract has already led to legal action. Recent Fraud and Corruption Cases (February 2026) Municipal Contract Fraud Arrest: On February 3, 2026, a Gqeberha businessman was arrested by the Hawks for alleged fraud exceeding R189,000. The charges relate to a contract …

As we move through early 2026, several high-profile fraud and corruption cases have already made headlines, many of which directly impact Nelson Mandela Bay and the broader South African landscape. Here are the major announcements and developments from January and February 2026: 1. The R1 Billion International “Call Centre” Scam On January 29, 2026, the …

Perusing Leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisens speech, at the party’s provincial congress in Bloemfontein it struuck me that maybe John needs to change tack and words: In his speech John said: People want water in their taps. They want roads that don’t destroy their vehicles. They want clinics and libraries that are open, …

This is one thing that rears it’s head on a regular basis: Someone on social media gets a bee in their bonnet after a particularly bad report about the state of (read: lack of) service delivery and posts this; “We should all stop paying and place the monies in a bank account until it is …

In January 2026, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture approved 21 geographical name changes across South Africa. This follows a significant trend this decade of renaming cities and towns to better reflect indigenous heritage. The January 2026 Renaming List The most prominent changes approved this week, which will be legally binding once gazetted, include: …

Read on to see just which domain name extension for KuGompo costs over R6 000.00 PER ANNUM. East London has been renamed KuGompo and, just like when Port Elizabeth was renamed to Gqeberha, I popped along to my domain registrar this afternoon to take a peek at how many KuGompo domain names had been snatched …

As a male I do not have the added pressure placed upon me of having to be a fashion icon that never wears the same clothes again, ever. All I need to do is pull on my jeans (from yesterday) over a clean pair of underpants and socks, squish into my safety boots and choose …

Tell us in the comments.

Here is a statistic that our government should be using in order to determine the success (or failure) of the BEE programme today. The ask is simple: “Would you prefer to be White, Coloured, Black, Asian or Chinese today?” The determination is simple: “If more people want to change to being black today than in …

There are detractors and supporters for South Africa’s BEE. What is BEE? In a South African context, BEE stands for Black Economic Empowerment. Now formally known as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), it is a government policy and legislative framework designed to address the economic inequalities inherited from the Apartheid era. The primary goal of …

Your Weather Forecast for 21 January 2026: Sunny Today with temperatures from 18 to 23 degrees. Wind from the East ranging from 15 to 19 km/h. Wind gusts to peak at 53 km/h at 5:00 pm No Rain forecast. Local News headlines for the day: Daily Maverick: Nelson Mandela Bay metro police arrest taxi driver …

Hands up if this particular statement from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality doesn’t quite sit right with you: Nelson Mandela Bay is using far more water than it can afford. Our daily target is 280 million litres, but we are currently consuming 380 million litres every day — 100 million litres over the limit. At this rate, …

The short answer; “Probably, not at all”. MyNMB has been charting the Dam Levels for longer than we care to remember. Our latest set of Dam Levels show dam levels from 2017 and if we look at every year’s progress January to December we see: In only one year of the 7 – 2018 did …

In the Mayor’s New Years message to us mere mortals there is one paragraph that needs attention: The Executive Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says; “Together, we are working to position Nelson Mandela Bay as a destination of choice for tourism, investment and quality of life – a city that attracts opportunity while …

One always starts these types of comparisons with a sense of trepidation. At least in my case, that trepidation stems from the fact that I am acutely aware that in any situation I can always find someone cleverer, more connected and in possession of better data. But, as a conversation starter this comparison between the …

Today I asked AI the following question; “Are there any cults linked to Nelson Mandela Bay?” The answer went as follows: There are several controversial groups and religious organizations in the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) area and the broader Eastern Cape are under scrutiny for exhibiting cult-like behaviors. Suspected Cults in Nelson Mandela Bay God’s …

With reference to the recent video circulating of Bitou deputy mayor Nokuzola Kolwapi showing her firing a gun in the air during her son’s ulwaluko ceremony in Plettenberg Bay’s Kwanokuthula – which means place of peace or quiet (Kwa – from and thula – keep quiet): Kolwapi released a statement today saying that the ‘gun’ …

Confession: I still feel a little perturbed when asking any AI agent to critically examine something – especially if it is on the agent’s own platform. For example like the Grok Agent available on X.com. Which x.com account scores highest in a rating for ‘engagement’. And the answer from Mr Grok went as follows:  Based …

The equitable share is a critical source of funding for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), enabling it to perform its constitutional mandate of service delivery. Nelson Mandela Bay’s Equitable Share for 2025/26 According to the South African National Treasury’s allocations published for the 2025/26 financial year (which begins on July 1, 2025), the Nelson …

Look at your children in Nelson Mandela Bay and ask yourself one question: “Has my child moved from play based leisure to phone based leisure?” If the answer is Yes then you need to watch the video below in which 60 Minutes Australia asks the question; “Will the world-first social media ban work?” We all …

Disclaimer: As part of Straton Prepaid I do have a sort of vested interest in promoting this notion. The reasons why I say that NMB should be installing prepaid water meters are as follows: An increasing number of residents phone our offices thinking that we install prepaid water meters that REPLACE municipal water meters – …

After reading a post on Group Sex for Amoebas by the Western Cape Marginilized Voice group highlighting the systemic abuse of taxpayer funds under the National Party during the days of apartheid, I need to once again set the record straight – our present woes are due to an ancient systemic abuse of power by …

Today I received an email from the the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality looking for a; “SCM/1151/S/2023-2024: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR STRENGTHENING OF ELECTRICTY NETWORK AND RELATED SERVICES” I see that the word electricity in the advert has experienced a bit of Consonant Shedding and lost an EYE (I). Even though the message was sent today, 10 …