Crime and corruption out of control in a top South African city
Crime and corruption have reached such concerning levels in Nelson Mandela Bay that President Cyril Ramaphosa has been asked to intervene.
Retief Odendaal, a Member of the Provincial Legislature in the Eastern Cape, handed a letter regarding the problem to the Presidency and the Police Ministry in Pretoria.
Odendaal, who previously served as the Executive Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, said that Presidential intervention is needed to resolve many problems.
One of these problems is the tender scandal involving LED streetlight and floodlight contracts, which led to a Special Investigating Unit investigation.
The Special Investigating Unit presented its findings and recommendations to the Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, mayoral committee, and the directorate.
It set a deadline for 13 July 2026 to implement the recommendations. “The deadline was ignored,” Odendaal said in a press statement.
Instead, the municipality has laid charges against the official from the Internal Audit unit who has been leading the internal investigation into streetlights.
“The Municipality is now set to inform the SIU that documents relating to this investigation have been lost due to the incompetence of that official,” he said.
Odendaal argued that this was an attempt by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to sabotage the investigation.
He also submitted their State of the Bay report to the Presidency, which highlighted problems in the municipality.
“The municipality is plagued by failing services, poor governance, financial collapse and a lack of accountability,” he said.
“There are persistent water leaks, water outages, electricity outages, procurement concerns, and deteriorating infrastructure.”
Odendaal also delivered a letter to the Office of the Acting Minister, Professor Firoz Cachalia, focusing on crime in the area.
He said that an intervention is needed to address the “out of control crime and gangsterism crisis”.
“The President and Acting Minister must act now to rescue Nelson Mandela Bay before more damage is done,” he said.
Photos of Retief Odendaal handing over letters
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Maybe we should follow the Chinese for a period …where corruption, fraud and such actions described there is punished by death … some with a firing squad and also in a very short time .
Well we can all wish .
For as long as the thieves are in charge and control the country is becoming a failed state. …