The Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition has welcomed parliament’s Cogta committee’s firm stance in holding the metro’s political and administrative leadership accountable for its ongoing decline.
The coalition described the engagements on Tuesday and Wednesday as a necessary and long-overdue moment of accountability.
Mayor Babalwa Lobishe faced a bruising four-hour grilling in parliament on Tuesday.
MPs accused her of weak leadership, disregarding official correspondence and overseeing a municipality in dysfunction.
On Wednesday, Lobishe, acting city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo and CFO Jackson Ngcelwane again faced off against the stoic co-operative governance and traditional affairs portfolio committee chair, Zweli Mkhize, in parliament.
In a statement, the coalition said the engagement marked a critical step in reinforcing oversight and ensuring that the severity of the situation in Nelson Mandela Bay was ventilated at a national level.
“It also affirms what civil society has consistently raised: the challenges facing the metro are neither new nor unforeseen — they are well known, extensively documented and long-standing.
“What has emerged with greater clarity through this process is the widening disconnect between planning and implementation.
“While plans, strategies and diagnostic reports exist, delivery continues to fall short.”
The coalition said that at the core of the crisis was a systemic failure of execution.
“The municipality is not short of insight or frameworks.
“It is falling short in its ability to implement effectively, consistently and with accountability.
“This is further compounded by a governance environment in which responsibility is diffused — where many are involved, but no-one is held fully accountable."
The coalition said issues raised during the engagement closely mirrored long-standing concerns highlighted by civil society repeatedly.
“These include the urgent need for decisive intervention in both political and administrative leadership, instability in the city manager position and persistent dysfunction within supply chain management systems.”
The coalition said it rejected any suggestion that the metro’s decline was primarily due to financial constraints.
“The evidence points instead to sustained political interference in municipal operations, procurement inefficiencies and blockages, and a steady erosion of professional and technical capacity.
“Without addressing these structural issues, no financial intervention alone will resolve the crisis.”
The Herald
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