#TheHerald180 | How the ANC lost Nelson Mandela Bay municipality

The ANC’s downfall in Nelson Mandela Bay can be traced as far back as 2009.

By then, the golden era of Nceba Faku’s mayorship had faded and his legacy, once influential, was increasingly tainted by allegations of corruption.

Alongside then-ANC regional secretary Zandisile Qupe, Faku turned on former mayor Nondumiso Maphazi, who had resisted political interference from Standard House (later Florence Matomela House).

Maphazi’s refusal to toe the line triggered a targeted campaign against her.

At the centre of the controversy was municipal manager Graham Richards, suspended by the council on what Maphazi described as frivolous charges.

This was widely seen as a strategic move to clear the way for political control of the city’s administration.

Enter Elias Ntoba, a virtually unknown figure parachuted in from the Northern Cape, appointed as acting municipal manager.

His tenure marked the start of an exodus of respected senior managers, who left in droves, unwilling to work under increasing political pressure.

Ntoba wasted no time consolidating control.

He removed CFO Kevin Jacoby as chair of the bid adjudication committee and replaced him with Sithembele Vatala, head of the integrated development plan unit.

He also placed communications director Roland Williams in charge of the tender evaluation committee.

Both men were close allies of Faku and their appointments were widely viewed as a deliberate effort to secure ANC influence over municipal tenders.

With Maphazi removed and Zanoxolo Wayile installed as mayor in November 2009, many believed the gates of patronage had fully opened.

But Wayile proved unexpectedly independent, defending the role of a strong, non-partisan city administration.

His tenure, however, was marked by fierce infighting within the ANC caucus, which saw him, deputy mayor Nancy Sihlwayi and speaker Maria Hermans as obstacles.

In 2013, they were removed and 81-year-old Ben Fihla was brought in as a pliable replacement.

It was during Fihla’s tenure that corruption surged.

Funds meant for the Integrated Public Transport System were shamelessly looted.

The cases linked to that period are still before the courts today.

Fihla, seen largely as a figurehead, followed the lead of his deputy Chippa Ngcolomba and regional secretary Qupe.

Even the high-profile appointment of Danny Jordaan in 2015 couldn’t reverse the rot in time for the 2016 local government elections.

Jordaan, alongside acting city manager Johann Mettler, brought a measure of administrative competence and direction.

But it was too little, too late. The damage had been done.

The ANC’s grip on the metro slipped and, in 2016, it lost the municipality for the first time since the first democratic municipal elections in 1995.

That election redrew SA’s political map and Nelson Mandela Bay was no exception.

Like Ekurhuleni and the City of Joburg, the metro was thrust into the era of coalition politics.

Key political figures emerged, including former DA MP-turned-ActionSA member Athol Trollip, ex-COPE MP-turned-DA leader Nqaba Bhanga and former ANC MP Litho Suka.

But it was the UDM’s Mongameli Bobani who embodied the chaos to come.

With just two seats, Bobani rose from councillor to mayor, leveraging his “kingmaker” status while outmanoeuvring opponents.

Bobani and Trollip became bitter rivals, clashing on nearly every issue.

Bobani, who died during the Covid-19 pandemic, was linked to serious allegations of multimillion-rand money laundering.

Council chambers weren’t spared the drama either as former ANC councillor Andile Lungisa was convicted of assaulting DA councillor Rano Kayser with a glass water jug in 2016, prompting a ban on glassware in council meetings.

Trollip was ultimately ousted through a motion of no-confidence, and between the 2016 and 2021 elections, the metro cycled through eight mayors and multiple city managers, most of them unable to complete their terms.

This revolving door of leadership bred deep administrative instability and undermined service delivery.

As political leaders fought for power, the city deteriorated.

Nelson Mandela Bay earned the grim title of SA’s murder capital, with five of the country’s top 30 murder hotspots located here.

Iconic buildings such as the Red Location Museum and Woolboard Chambers crumbled into ruin, neglected by an indifferent leadership.

Residents now navigate cratered roads and darkened streets, while basic services falter.

In a city where little seems to be holding, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium stands out — still intact, still a point of pride.

A lone monument to what the metro could have been, had governance not given way to greed and factionalism.

The Herald