Nelson Mandela Bay mayor defends launching petition to fight crime that lacks details

30 Mar 2025

While offering no concrete strategies, apart from a vague long-term plan to change the laws of the country, Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe said she had a plan to fight crime in the metro, adding that the ‘intellectual DA’ misunderstands her strategies in launching an online petition to address rampant violence in the city.

When it was pointed out to Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe at the city council meeting last week that the DA-led Kouga Municipality was launching crime-fighting drones while she launched an online petition to “make the metro safer”, she said the DA councillors are acting as if they are “learned”.

The mayor, from the ANC, then explained that her plan is to change national legislation to prevent outside communications from prison inmates.

Nelson Mandela Bay is in the grips of a horrendous crime wave. According to the latest crime statistics released by South African Police Service and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, it was identified as the most problematic district in Eastern Cape and several of its police stations are in the top five for murder, rape, other serious crimes and community-reported crimes.

Read more: Nelson Mandela Bay mayor in unsuccessful bid to write off R3.2bn in wasteful and unauthorised expenditure

Lobishe, who has blamed red tape and bureaucracy for the problems in rolling out CCTV cameras in the metro, said she thinks the solution is to change the laws of the country.

The metro has been in a decade-long legal battle with a company called Afrisec about surveillance cameras in the city.

Dear President

This is the exact wording of Lobishe’s petition:

“The NMBM Leadership and civil society calls on the President to implement urgent measures to fight crime in NMBM. Crime in NMBM has reached abnormally high proportions.

“The recently published crime statistics reveal a picture of a city that is overwhelmed by rampant, brazen and persistent criminality despite measures that have been implemented. It is time for escalated action to decisively enforce the authority of the state, restore livelihoods and enable economic growth.

“We call upon the President to: Declare a state of emergency with a curfew! Deploy soldiers urgently! Ensure that there is no bail for repeated offenders! Stricter monitoring of offenders in prison to ensure that no criminal activities are facilities, enabled and abetted from prison walls!

“Sign the petition calling on the President to prioritise the implementation of emergency measures to fight crime in NMBM, including urgent deployment of soldiers, bail to be denied for repeated offenders and for stricter regulations to be enforced in jail to eliminate generation and facilitation of crime from within the prison walls.”

Lobishe explained that her plan is for “exploring the option” of changing national legislation, but neither the petition nor the mayor explained what these laws are and how long it will take.

She did add, however: “When we call for the President to give us attention, we want him to attend to the network that is available in prisons that allows inmates to communicate with the outside world.”

CCTV ‘a priority’

Lobishe indicated that she too was “tired” of stories about why cameras are not being rolled out in the city.

“It does not make us less intellectual because we haven’t implemented it. It is red tape and bureaucracy in our system,” she added, promising to provide an update at a council meeting scheduled for Monday.

“It is a priority,” she said.

Lobishe was responding to a DA councillor’s comments on the contrast between the DA-led Kouga Municipality launching a state-of-the-art operations room and drones in the neighbouring municipality, and her launching a petition.

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro also used to have ShotSpotter, an early warning and triangulation system that shows law enforcement where shots are fired, but this too was allowed to lapse.

In a damning assessment of the current state of finances and governance in the city, Treasury wrote in a letter that formed part of the council agenda: “The city stated that the law and order is out of control in the area and the personnel working on project sites and responding to service delivery needs are exposed to crime.

“There are areas who are declared ‘no go areas’. The city has partnered with South African Police Service (SAPS) to identify hotspots and is participating in the community Safety forum which involves all stakeholders. Violent behaviours and tensions are being attended to, and the SAPS has increased the number of police officers on the ground since the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Minister of the Police.”

Read more: Nelson Mandela Bay tourism staggers under crime onslaught – calls for beachfront police unit

Last week, the national government deployed additional police officers to the metro, including 150 Public Order Police members and 15 detectives as the area was rocked again by shootings and church robberies.

The additional resources will be assigned to hotspots such as Kwazakhele, New Brighton, KwaNobuhle, Kwadwesi, Gelvandale and Bethelsdorp.

“As the Eastern Cape government, we want to reassure the residents of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro that our crimefighting strategies are beginning to yield positive results,” said community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha.

“We also welcome the additional resources provided by the national government, which will enhance our efforts to combat crime effectively in the Metro. We would like to warn criminals that the police will not tolerate their actions while they threaten our communities.” DM

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Dear President

CCTV ‘a priority’