The Herald (South Africa)
‘A city in paralysis’
With municipal phone lines down for days, councillors across Nelson Mandela Bay became the city’s unofficial call centre, fielding hundreds of complaints daily as residents grappled with water outages, power cuts and a growing list of service delivery...
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What’s Lungisa’s next step?
Emerging as an early frontrunner on the ANC’s PR councillor candidate nomination list in Nelson Mandela Bay, Andile Lungisa believes this has strengthened his mayoral ambitions and warns that any attempt by national bosses to impose a candidate will be...
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J-Bay murder accused found not guilty
Donovan Wolf, who was accused of murdering a Jeffreys Bay man, has been found not guilty by the Gqeberha high court. The judgment comes five years after Wolf was charged with the murder of fellow Wavecrest resident Clyde Stuurman. Stuurman, 26, was...
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Young and jobless: Residents share pain ahead of Youth Day
For Khanyiswa Plaaitjies, her weekly ritual has become a test of endurance as she carries a bag filled with CVs, going from shop to shop and business to business, handing out copies with little success. Plaaitjies and her wheelchair-bound father are...
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Too much manganese dust, so what’s the game plan?
With dust fallout linked to manganese-ore handling now reflecting chronic non-compliance, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality wants to let the leases for bulk storage at the Gqeberha harbour expire next year and not be renewed. The municipality’s air...
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Report takes Makana to task: ‘Human rights cannot wait’
A damning new report by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has declared the Makana municipality’s ongoing water and sanitation crisis a violation of fundamental constitutional rights. After more than three years of investigations, complaints and...
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Residents gripped by fear after group gunned down
KwaDwesi residents have been left traumatised and terrified after armed criminals stormed a home, forcing the occupants to access their banking apps and then stealing their phones and opening fire. Three people died at the scene and a fourth died in...
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Appeal pays off for Greyvensteins
After a years-long battle, the appeal court has set aside a Legal Practice Council (LPC) report against large Gqeberha law firm Greyvensteins Inc, finding that the investigation committee overstepped its powers and created a reasonable perception of...
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Painful memories, fresh trauma as the heavens open again
Having barely begun to recover from the last bout of heavy rains, parts of Nelson Mandela Bay and Kouga were once again battered by relentless downpours — compounding damage, displacing residents and pushing already swollen rivers closer to breaking...
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WHAT A WASTE!
A R2.9m state-of-the-art maternity ward at Dora Nginza Hospital is standing locked, unused and gathering dust — seven months after it was completed — despite ongoing pressure on public healthcare services. Behind the sealed doors lie brand-new...
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Howzat! Bay set for whopper of a World Cup innings
Nelson Mandela Bay is on the front foot, having been designated as a host destination for six games during the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, with the event expected to generate R1.9bn in economic activity for the area. And with the spectacle...
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Speculation grows over Bay’s future with Ironman
Nelson Mandela Bay is fighting to hold on to one of its most prized international sporting events as growing speculation suggests Ironman may shift its flagship African Championship to Mossel Bay. While metro officials insist discussions with the...
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Alexandria residents outraged over boy’s gruesome death
Residents are in an uproar following a horrific incident that unfolded in Alexandria last week when the body of a fouryear-old boy was found at the bottom of a drain after his mother had reported him missing earlier in the day. The incident sparked...
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How much to fix our broken Bay?
A total of R31bn — that is how much is needed to get Nelson Mandela Bay back on track, arrest years of collapse and rebuild some of the failing infrastructure. The figure is drawn from a situation analysis report on the municipality dated February...
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Scathing! Business community gives metro a ‘snotklap’
Nelson Mandela Bay’s business community has delivered one of its most scathing assessments yet of the metro’s decline, describing a city where governance has buckled under political turbulence, accountability has thinned and basic services are no...
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Gamtoos Valley faces long, challenging road to recovery
Three weeks after floodwaters surged through the Gamtoos Valley, leaving parts of the area submerged under nearly 3m of water, residents and business owners are still grappling with the devastating aftermath — clearing mud-soaked homes, salvaging what...
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‘Province’s greatest natural asset is in real danger’
The Eastern Cape’s network of nature reserves is under growing strain, with chronic underfunding, crumbling infrastructure and rising poaching threats placing the province’s conservation efforts at risk. However, the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism...
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‘We’ve got to dodge and queue in Pothole Avenue’
Nelson Mandela Bay’s roads are a maze of potholes, with motorists forced to dodge patchworks of broken tar daily along major routes and residential streets. Residents across the city say pothole-ridden roads are damaging vehicles, disrupting...
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BAIC workers raise a host of grievances
Workers at vehicle assembler BAIC SA have accused the company of cutting wages, paying late and withholding overtime payments. Employees claim their hourly rates were slashed from about R120 to less than R50. Another allegation is that certain...
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Baby tragedies: Inside Dora Nginza’s devastating record
Under immense pressure and facing a range of challenges, Dora Nginza Hospital has tragically recorded the highest number of perinatal deaths of any health institution in the Eastern Cape for the third year in a row. The hospital is inundated with...
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‘Livingstone staff should have kept their eyes on my son’
The family of a Gqeberha teenager is demanding answers after his sudden death at Livingstone Hospital, where he fell and hit his head while recovering from an appendectomy. Keanu Friskin, 16, described as a promising young soccer player with a bright...
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Walmer residents blow a gasket over tuk-tuk business
The municipality has launched an investigation into a controversial tuk-tuk business operating from a residential area in Walmer, where mounting complaints have arisen over alleged illegal land use, persistent noise and safety concerns. Officials are...
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Unsafe and neglected: Inside Bay’s undignified cemeteries
Neglect, crime and flood damage have turned Nelson Mandela Bay’s cemeteries into scenes of devastation, where grieving families must navigate sunken graves, stolen tombstones and even the threat of robbery. The crisis was thrust into sharp focus last...
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It never rains but it pours for SPCA
The farming community of Kruisrivier near Kariega has raised fresh concerns over plans to relocate the Uitenhage SPCA to a flood-prone property after last week’s heavy rains left the proposed site waterlogged and strewn with debris. Following three...
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‘You’re in a snake park,’ new acting city manager warned
Nelson Mandela Bay’s newest acting city manager, Charity Sihunu, was warned that she was stepping into a snake park as the council endorsed her secondment during a tense council meeting yesterday. Sihunu, the acting deputy director-general of the...
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Unemployment stranglehold tightening in Bay
The unemployment rate in Nelson Mandela Bay climbed to 29.8% in the first quarter of 2026, with the metro also recording the sharpest year-onyear increase in joblessness among SA’s metros. The Bay’s unemployment rate rose by 7.5 percentage points from...
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Damaging winds add insult to injury
While the ground was still waterlogged from days of heavy rain, strong winds tore through parts of Nelson Mandela Bay and the Garden Route yesterday, uprooting trees, blocking key roads and ripping roofs from buildings. The latest bout of severe...
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Dams are full, but ‘we still need better governance’
If we want to protect the bountiful new water supply filling Nelson Mandela Bay dams and avoid sliding back into a drought crisis in two years’ time, an improvement in governance is non-negotiable. That is the word from experienced water engineer and...
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FLOODING MISERY: ‘We can’t lose what little we have left!’
Nelson Mandela Bay’s flood disaster escalated dramatically on its second day of relentless rainfall, with rising water levels displacing families and submerging homes — yet many refused to evacuate over fears of looting. Despite the municipality...
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Drama amid the deluge
Chaos unfolded across the metro and much of the province yesterday as an overnight storm displaced residents, flooded homes and even tore a swimming pool from its foundation, underscoring the sheer force of the weather. With Nelson Mandela Bay schools...
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Heartfelt tributes for coffee shop owner after freak accident
Flowers were laid on the deck of a popular Gqeberha coffee shop yesterday as grief-stricken patrons returned to the scene of a freak accident in which the owner was killed when a generator caught fire. The shock incident at Indulge Coffee Shop on...
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FATAL CRASH
Distraught family members stood behind the tape cordoning off the scene as emergency workers attended to the horrific wreck of an accident in which eight people were killed and multiple others injured yesterday. Police are investigating a case of...
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BEACHES RED-FLAGGED
Nelson Mandela Bay’s prized Blue Flag beaches are under threat, with a municipal report warning that safety and security failures could ultimately cost the metro its internationally recognised status at key coastal sites. Losing a Blue Flag status...
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Nqwazi vows to return to City Hall today
Arguing that her suspension has become unlawful after two years without a formal hearing having begun, Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Noxolo Nqwazi intends to return to work today, the second time she has invoked a delay to reclaim her post. Nqwazi...
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What Krisley Dirker’s life could have been
In a powerful and haunting moment in the Gqeberha high court, the state presented an AI-generated image of what Krisley Dirker might have looked like today had she not died after being beaten by her stepfather as a toddler. The unconventional step...
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Frustration and fears over ballooning municipal arrears
Overdue municipal arrears in Nelson Mandela Bay have surged to R22.6bn, with the metro’s staff owing R6.77m for rates and services. This has prompted the municipality to start salary deductions and formal repayment arrangements with staff. The...
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Major Gqeberha reservoir’s little room of horrors
The scourge of vandalism has reared its ugly head at the critical Mount Road Reservoir, with a disgusting discovery in a small room on the premises raising serious concerns. With evidence of vagrants living at the facility — and engaging in unhygienic...
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Slammed prosecutor from Omotoso trial gets another major job
Despite being replaced as prosecutor in two high-profile cases amid a judicial finding of unethical conduct, advocate Nceba Ntelwa has resurfaced at the centre of another major case — this time as part of a specialised task team handling matters...
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ARTS FEST: Makhanda in dire straits, but show must go on
Despite the crumbling infrastructure and never-ending water woes in Makhanda, the National Arts Festival (NAF) will go ahead in June. Organisers say though they have noted the multiple issues in the small city, these will not affect the popular...
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‘We are serving a life sentence without Jayde’
On the 11th anniversary of Jayde Panayiotou’s murder, her family are once again being forced to relive their loss as they gear up to oppose parole for one of the men behind her killing. Having served eight years of his 15-year prison sentence for...
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Vulnerable children at risk of being turned away
A Gqeberha-based child protection organisation says it is being forced to turn away vulnerable children, including abuse victims, because it has run out of space, highlighting a growing crisis in the city’s care system. The Zanethemba Charity...
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Gqeberha rolls out red carpet for Ironman
The Gqeberha esplanade was packed with thousands of athletes and supporters as they lined the street to experience one of the continent’s most gruelling endurance races, the 2026 Isuzu Ironman African Championship. Nelson Mandela Bay was out in its...
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‘We don’t feel valued at Aspen’
About 150 jobs are at risk at the Gqeberha facility of Aspen Pharmacare’s South African Operations, a situation that has created anxiety among workers who say repeated retrenchments have pushed morale to an all-time low and left them feeling...
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Stage set for Malema’s big day
The EFF has conceded that the ongoing firearm-related case against its leader, Julius Malema, could disrupt the party’s preparations for this year’s local government elections, regardless of the outcome of the court process. Party secretary-general...
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Perly poachers’ ‘military-style’ takeover
Seaview and Kini Bay residents were on high alert yesterday waiting for another invasion of perlemoen poachers after the mayhem from the day before. Taking advantage of flat, crystal clear seas, the poachers have been arriving by the bakkie load each...
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Claws out as saga between metro, SPCA rages on
In the latest development in an escalating cat-and-dog fight, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has signalled it is going the legal route to evict the Uitenhage SPCA, but lawyers for the animal welfare organisation are having none of it. Bay public...
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Dogfight brews over new SPCA property
A new property which was hoped would secure the future of the Uitenhage SPCA, thanks to a R2.7m lifeline, has instead been at the centre of a fierce standoff in the farming community of Kruisrivier, where angry neighbours arrived at the site yesterday...
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Art museum paints a picture of despair
Buckling under years of neglect, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum is facing a deepening crisis, with leaking roofs, a gutted staff structure and failing safety systems placing its priceless collection at risk. Galleries have been closed for...
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‘Welcome to the Bay, soldiers!’
Cheers echoed through the streets of Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday as 290 members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) rolled into the metro. Children ran alongside military vehicles, waving and shouting in excitement, while elderly residents stood...
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‘Disturbing discoveries’ at pound spark legal action
The Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) has taken the newly appointed operator of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal pound to court with allegations of neglect including puppies going hungry and lactating dogs being left with no blankets in filthy...
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Lobishe survives, but what now?
After Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe survived two no-confidence motions yesterday, the council is setting up an ad hoc committee to investigate claims that parliament’s requests for information were ignored. The recommendation came from the...
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Help us to remove mayor, smaller parties tell ANC
Several smaller opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay are urging the ANC to back an expected motion of no confidence against mayor Babalwa Lobishe today, offering her party the opportunity to appoint her replacement. Lobishe faces two motions...
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STINGING: Chief of staff accuses mayor of lying to parly
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe is facing an explosive backlash from her chief of staff, Mlungisi Lumka, who has accused her of scapegoating him and lying to parliament as the city spirals deeper into crisis under her watch. In a blistering...
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ANC conference: On your marks, get set ... wait, what?
With the ANC’s Eastern Cape elective conference hanging in the balance, confusion and defiance reigned last night after a last-minute court order cast doubt on the gathering. An interim interdict granted by the high court in KuGompo City cast...
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WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE
Situation a major threat to well-known Walmer deli Petrol station becomes a community hub amid crisis Residents face danger and hunger during 21-day outage Test week chaos as disaster hits students in Summerstrand Accommodation provider tells of...
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Mayor grilled and roasted in fiery exchange
A bruising parliamentary showdown exposed a broken Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, with MPs accusing mayor Babalwa Lobishe of disrespecting parliament, failing to respond to repeated correspondence and presiding over a disorganised and unaccountable...
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Emotions run high as ‘Prime Evil’ faces scrutiny in court
More than 11 years after his last public appearance, Eugene de Kock — the apartheid-era Vlakplaas death squad commander infamously known as “Prime Evil ”— appeared in the Gqeberha high court yesterday under heavy police guard. The families of the late...
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Uphill battle to fund repairs amid Bay’s Dark Age
Nelson Mandela Bay’s electricity department is operating without a budget or contract for critical high-voltage infrastructure, owing contractors about R60m. This comes as the city is scrambling to fund repairs following repeated pylon collapses that...
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Latest power muck-up could take 21 DAYS to fix
A third pylon collapse in just a few months has cut electricity to large parts of Gqeberha, with residents and businesses now bracing for a gruelling period of disruption as repairs are expected to take 21 days. A series of pylon collapses has led to...
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Power crisis puts the brakes on auto industry
Nelson Mandela Bay’s failing electricity infrastructure is battering industries in the city, stifling production and eroding the metro’s global competitiveness. Unplanned outages, failing pylons and years of neglect have turned power supply into a...
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Fire department on the verge of burnout
A fire engine bought for R11m during the 2010 Fifa World Cup has reportedly been sitting idle for the past three years as the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s fire department battles a deepening operational crisis. Multiple fire engines across the...
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Photos and crime scene details under scrutiny in Terblanche trial
Questions over the integrity of the crime scene where Vicki Terblanche was killed surfaced in the Gqeberha high court yesterday after the defence highlighted inconsistencies regarding forensic photographs and the discovery of drugs next to her...
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‘Our animals will have a new home soon’
In just seven weeks, the Uitenhage SPCA has managed to raise R2.7m — a goal that seemed impossible when the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality first gave the animal welfare organisation notice to vacate the premises. The Herald reported at the end of...
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‘Terblanche doesn’t know what case he must actually meet’
Lawyers for murder accused businessman Arnold Terblanche have challenged the state to identify who it believes actually killed his estranged wife, Vicki. This comes after two key witnesses — her boyfriend Reinhardt Leach and his friend, Dylan Cullis —...
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Oops ... It happened again!
Repeated warnings, including on Monday, that pylons on the 132kV Chelsea–Arlington line were at risk of collapse did not prevent large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay from being plunged into darkness yet again. The rusted transmission tower collapsed...
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Concerns raised over funds for Ebubeleni fest, U’hage Picnic
The Nelson Mandela Bay council has authorised the payment of R5.2m for the 2025 Ebubeleni Music Festival and Uitenhage Picnic — a decision some councillors say is unlawful and could leave officials accountable for irregular expenditure. The funding...
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Bay councillor accused of assaulting mother of his child
A Nelson Mandela Bay councillor appeared in the New Brighton magistrate’s court yesterday for allegedly slapping the mother of his child. The alleged incident took place in Kwazakhele on Friday. The man was arrested on Sunday and spent the night...
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Metro thirsty for permanent staff as water woes deepen
Nelson Mandela Bay has still not managed to hire a permanent boss in the infrastructure and engineering department as the city grapples with an impending water crisis. Infrastructure and engineering acting executive director Joseph Tsatsire is just...
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Grant and revenue failures force Bay budget reshuffle
The withdrawal of unspent grant funding and failure to meet revenue collection targets have left a huge hole in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s coffers, forcing a massive rejig of its 2025/2026 adjustment budget, with several long-planned...
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‘Please send the army to Kwazakhele’
MPs are pushing for the military deployment in Nelson Mandela Bay to be extended to Kwazakhele, questioning why the township repeatedly rocked by mass shootings was left off a plan meant to combat organised crime and gangsterism. During a heated...
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