The alarming increase in attacks on municipal officials in Nelson Mandela Bay is a community problem that cannot be addressed by the municipality on its own. These attacks hurt businesses and residents hard. There are even “no-go areas” in the metro for officials. Electricity and energy executive director Luvuyo Magalela revealed this week that at least seven officials in his department had been robbed every month since January.
Seven ANC councillors facing threats from residents stormed Nelson Mandela Bay’s energy administration building in North End on Thursday to demand electricity be restored to various wards.
Municipalities have been able to procure power from independent providers since 2020, and now, Eyewitness News has asked each of South Africa s eight metropoles for an update on their IPP plans.
The appointment of Nelson Mandela Bay City manager Dr Noxolo Nqwazi during a chaotic council meeting in March was the culmination of fraudulent activity with speaker Gary van Niekerk misrepresenting the vote count.
Some 18,000 electricity thieves in Nelson Mandela Bay have come forward to apply for the municipality’s amnesty, though the city continues to struggle with 42,000 more illegal connections.