Nelson Mandela Bay: Municipal snapshot - EWN

Nelson Mandela Bay, established on 5 December 2000, was the first city in South Africa to establish a fully integrated democratic local authority, and is the only city in the world named after Nelson Mandela, who was born and spent his formative years in the Eastern Cape.

LGE 2026 | Municipal snapshot | Eastern Cape Metro 5 of 9 Nelson Mandela Bay 60% of water lost Nelson Mandela Bay, established on 5 December 2000, was the first city in South Africa to establish a fully integrated democratic local authority, and is the only city in the world named after Nelson Mandela, who was born and spent his formative years in the Eastern Cape. 1 Population Eastern Cape Nelson Mandela Bay Gqeberha KuGompo City Buffalo City metro Bhisho Provincial capital Nelson Mandela Bay 1.29 million Population 19.8% of the Eastern Cape population (Stats SA, 2024) 406 720 69 565 Number of households Approved indigent households AGSA 33.1% Unemployment rate 2026: Q2

2 Economy Anchored in Automotive Manufacturing Tourism Agriculture Per the AGSA report. It is the Eastern Cape's principal economic hub and a major seaport. 41 000 Jobs lost in the metro in 2025 The car manufacturing industry has been hit by high export tariffs and a massive influx of cheaper, competitive vehicle imports from China and India. Source: Moneyweb

3 Poverty 37.4% 40% 33.4% Of individuals rely on social grants Of children stunted to some degree Struggle to access regular meals One of the highest rates among South Africa's major metros HSRC National Food and Nutrition Security Survey, 2024 The highest rate of food inadequacy among all eight major metros Sources: The Herald, 25 July 2025; Daily Maverick, 27 July 2025

4 Council and management Controlling party ANC Executive mayor Babalwa Lobishe Council: 120 seats 48 : 48 ANC and DA seats ANC DA EFF Others Composition of council ANC DA EFF NA ACDP DOP PA VF Plus AIC AIM GOOD PAC UDM Controlling party: ANC EFF NA AIC PAC ANC/EFF/NA/AIC/PAC coalition. Executive Mayor: Ms Babalwa Lobishe (ANC). 48 48 8 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

5 AG report 2024-2025: urgent action is required to restore stability and accountability Opinion: qualified, 2024/25 The Municipality received a qualified audit opinion for the 2024/25 financial year. 2024-25 Qualified Unchanged 2023-24 Qualified Regressed 2022-23 Unqualified with findings Improved 2021-22 Qualified Unchanged 2020-21 Qualified Unchanged Opinion The metro regressed year-on-year, with more audit findings, the result of root causes never adequately addressed. The AG could not even form an opinion on whether reported performance information was reliable. Service delivery Deteriorating water infrastructure, poor pollution control and weak project implementation are driving water losses beyond acceptable benchmarks, public harm, and housing delays. NMB's wastewater treatment works lack a valid operating licence (one of only four metros cited for this). Like eThekwini and Buffalo City, it relies heavily on estimated water and electricity readings, causing billing inaccuracies. Governance Political and administrative instability has eroded institutional capability and accountability: the suspended accounting officer left a leadership vacuum, worsened by acting appointments and senior vacancies, fragmenting decision-making and weakening control ownership. 5 5 No. 1 Different mayors since 2021 Different coalition configurations since 2021 Highest senior management vacancy rate of all the metros Without urgent action, the metro risks further audit regression, weaker service delivery, and continued loss of public trust. Creditor days 189 days: the highest of any metro 189 Nelson Mandela Bay 175 Ekurhuleni 165 Mangaung ~121 Metro average 45 Cape Town (lowest) 94days Debtor days, against a target of 75% Source: AGSA MFMA 2024-25 General Report Financial health AG's own assessment: "Concerning" Though technically funded, the budget remains financially constrained with significant underlying risk. Persistent unauthorised expenditure, high debt impairment, long creditor-payment cycles, and underinvestment in infrastructure renewal and maintenance continue eroding financial sustainability.

6 Nelson Mandela Bay 2025 Annual Report (the city's report) 2024/25 Consolidated Annual Report Electricity losses 26.81% 26.81% NMB National average 25% "The Electricity function has been operating at a loss since the 2018/19 financial year and is escalating," in the City's own words, a "material risk to the financial sustainability and growth of the metro". Water losses 52.74% In 2024/25, up from 48.66% in 2023/24 2024/25 2023/24 National average 52.74% 48.66% 47% UIFWE (unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure) R1.8bn R24.2bn R710m R26.84bn Unauthorised Irregular Fruitless and wasteful Total Making it one of the highest UIFW expenditures of all municipalities. R31bn More recent updates show that the UIFW has jumped to R31 billion. In August 2026, Treasury criticised and declared unlawful the NMB coalition's attempt to write off R23 billion in UIFWE. Source: Daily Maverick, 23 August 2026 Underspending 75.64% The Municipality spent R1.326 billion of its approved R1.754 billion capital budget in the 2024/25 financial year, the lowest capital expenditure recorded since the 2022/23 financial year.

7 National intervention 101 Urgent corrective measures A Cogta Section 154 intervention team (deployed December 2025) flagged 101 urgent corrective measures for the metro, but internal resistance is slowing progress. Source: Daily Maverick, 11 June 2026 Who said what MEC Zolile Williams Blamed officials' resistance and the lack of a permanent city manager. Deputy Minister Dickson Masemola Says government is deepening Section 154 support rather than escalating to Section 139 yet. But it has been warned that unless there is an improvement, full administrative takeover is next. R2.38-billion Urban Development Financing Grant NMB is kept afloat by national grant lifelines. Its budget assumes most billed revenue is uncollectible. A R2.38-billion Urban Development Financing Grant, paid out over three years, now covers daily operating costs, repairs and consultants. Share of billing collected Lost to leaks, meter tampering and illegal connections 30.9% 52.74% Water Bulk water, costing R392.56m 50.9% Waste 26.81% Electricity, costing R1.48bn 59.3% Wastewater Source: Daily Maverick, 11 August 2026

8 Service delivery Access to basic services 96.5% 93.8% 93.5% 89.5% Electricity for lighting Piped water inside dwelling Flush toilet Weekly refuse removal

9 Water Water infrastructure 60%+ Of water lost between July and November 2025 4 700 km Decaying, 40-year-old pipeline network <40 km Replaced so far In a February 2026 Budget and Treasury Committee meeting, Executive Director for Infrastructure Joseph Tsatsire told councillors the metro lost over 60% of its water between July and November 2025. His proposed 15-workstream plan centres on large-scale pipe replacement as the only sustainable fix, but the current water strategy lacks the funding to be fully implemented. Source: Daily Maverick, 3 February 2026 A daily, city-defining story "Taps running dry" 40+ neighbourhoods hit by intermittent supply, some for two weeks, among them Motherwell, Bluewater Bay, Newton Park, Kabega Park, KwaNobuhle and Summerstrand. The municipality blames low reservoir storage and high turbidity beyond treatment-works capacity; several reservoirs sit at 1 to 8%, though Upper Lovemore holds 78%. The City says it is maintaining output at Nooitgedagt (200 Ml/day) and other plants. The Herald, 11 May 2026 Development "Push for independent probe" After one suburb went 21 days without water, caused by a valve simply turned the wrong way, councillor Gustav Rautenbach's motion for an independent expert panel to investigate the outages was adopted, pending city manager review of costs. Daily Maverick, 26 May 2026 "Water crisis compounded by dysfunction" Despite full dams post-flooding, reservoirs like Rosedale (0%) and Emerald Hill (2%) stayed critical due to chemical shortages, power outages at treatment plants, 7 500+ unrepaired leaks, and a stalled bid adjudication committee blocking plumber appointments. Fault-reporting lines were even cut for non-payment, fuelling resident anger over poor communication. Daily Maverick, 18 June 2026 May 2026 May 2026 Jun 2026 36.3% Green Drop score Wastewater failures threaten health and beaches in Bay The wastewater infrastructure is facing a critical systemic crisis. This severe failure has driven toxic pollution into local rivers and coastal environments, severely compromising public health and recreational water quality. The Herald, 26 August 2026 Free basic services Monthly free allocation under the Assistance to the Poor (ATTP) programme was cut: 75 kWh 50 kWh Electricity to 8 kl 6 kl Water to Introduced as measures linked to financial directives from National Treasury. The municipality indicated it could no longer sustain the higher allocations due to financial losses and dependencies on national funding grants. The cut sparked considerable public concern and political debate. Source: DA Eastern Cape, April 2025 Emergency medical services 10ambulances For over 1.1 million residents, far below the national norm of one per 10 000 people. The EMS system has collapsed, with staff conceding people are dying because of it. Union Hospersa is lodging a formal HPCSA complaint after management ignored repeated warnings about ambulance shortages, vanishing stretchers at Livingstone Hospital and unsafe working conditions. Paramedics describe multi-hour delays, home births and preventable deaths. The crisis echoes a 2015 SAHRC hearing that found identical problems: only 12 ambulances, one- person crews, unreliable response data. The province says new vehicles are being added via Government Fleet Management Services. Source: News24, 29 August 2026 10 Noteworthy stories Ruling Landmark case: Mbambisa and Others v Nelson Mandela Bay In November 2024, the SCA delivered a watershed ruling clarifying Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act: it is a self-standing provision imposing statutory liability on officials who act deliberately or negligently, meaning a municipality does not need to prove a specific financial loss to reclaim the money. The ruling arose from Nelson Mandela Bay's R2bn Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS), where Erastyle was irregularly awarded a communications contract without a tender. Former officials, including ex-city manager Mpilo Mbambisa, were ordered to repay a combined R7.6m, opening the door to further recoveries from officials nationwide. R7.6m Ordered to be repaid by former officials Supreme Court of Appeal, November 2024 (SAFLII) Under investigation The transformer controversy 63MVA R25m R125 000 to R250 000 R10m Municipal backup transformer Value of the 12-month deal Threshold above which Council authorisation is required A month, paid by Coega Steels Mayor Babalwa Lobishe unlawfully leased a 63MVA municipal backup transformer to private smelting firm Coega Steels, after signing a 12-month deal in September 2025 despite explicit legal advice against it. The R25 million deal bypassed mandatory Council authorisation and public participation required for municipal assets over R10 million, and no municipal bank account was even set up to receive the rental payments. It has since triggered a DA high court bid, a Hawks investigation, and a parliamentary grilling of city officials. Source: News24, 6 August 2026 Development Civil society and business-led interventions The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, working with the wider Civil Society Coalition (labour, NGOs, churches, community groups), has mobilised volunteers into 11 geographic clusters on the premise that NMB is "the most fixable metro in South Africa." 11 7 214+ 2 Geographic clusters Areas Surveillance cameras Protection drives Of volunteers "Adopt A Leak" fixed leaks, saving million litres a day Across its clusters "Adopt A Substation" and "Adopt A Pumpstation" protect infrastructure from vandalism and theft The Chamber is clear these efforts can't substitute for the metro fixing its own "completely unsustainable" water losses. Source: Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Sources Nelson Mandela Bay 2024/25 Consolidated Annual Report | Stats SA, 2024 | Auditor-General of South Africa, MFMA 2024-25 | Moneyweb | The Herald | Daily Maverick | News24 | DA Eastern Cape | Supreme Court of Appeal (SAFLII) | Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber | EWN. Allegations and matters under investigation are reported as such and have not been proven. Infographic: Dion V. Rademeyer / EWN Research: EWN