By Anita Dangazele
- Retief Odendaal gave Mayor Babalwa Lobishe a score of only ten percent for meeting just eight of her targets.
- The report says the city lost over one billion rand in electricity theft and has a huge housing backlog.
Residents of Nelson Mandela Bay are paying the price for a broken government. Potholes wreck cars, rivers are full of sewage and sports fields are vandalised.
This is the picture painted by the Democratic Alliance on Tuesday.
Retief Odendaal released a scathing report card in Gqeberha. He says the coalition between the ANC and EFF has destroyed the municipality.
The average score for the city was just 1.75 out of five.
“This has crippled the municipality,” Odendaal said.
The harsh report says Mayor Babalwa Lobishe is the worst performer. She scored just 0.5 out of five.
Odendaal claims she met only eight of the 85 targets she set for herself. He says she is out of touch with reality.
The city’s bank account is also in trouble.
The DA claims the municipality lost over R1.3-billion in the last year because of electricity theft and bad management. Cash reserves have dropped by R600-million.
Things are so bad that unpaid landlords are threatening to kick municipal staff out of their offices.
Safety is non-existent. The safety directorate scored the lowest marks because CCTV cameras are not linked and ShotSpotter technology is missing.
Meanwhile, 100,000 families are still waiting for houses.
Odendaal says the only way to fix the mess is to vote for a new government in 2026.
Pictured above: DA mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal.
Image source: Supplied
