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Nelson Mandela Bay’s business community has delivered one of its most scathing assessments yet of the metro’s decline, describing a city where governance has buckled under political turbulence, accountability has thinned and basic services are no longer guaranteed but hoped for.
The remarks were made as a concession at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber on Wednesday.
Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen said the metro was buckling under repeated power outages, flooding and a deepening water management crisis, with unaccounted water losses now standing at 63% — the highest in SA.
During her opening address, Van Huyssteen shared an email exchange with a distressed business owner who pleaded for answers on what more the private sector could do to force meaningful action from the municipality.
The correspondence captured a sense of fatigue among business owners, with another lamenting that investors were being chased away.
In response, Van Huyssteen said the crisis was systemic and affected every municipal department responsible for delivering basic services.
She said the only opportunity for change would come through the local government elections on November 4.
“We are not aligned to any political party or political agendas, and our views, policies, positions and advocacy are not for sale or subject to external influence,” she said.
“We focus on what’s within our control, and I’ll summarise some of these actions we’ve been taking as follows.
“We work with the Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition to drive accountability and action along common priorities through the signing of our joint social compact and utilising our service delivery scorecard as an accountability mechanism.
“It’s actually quite amazing the unity which exists between the NGOs, the churches, organised labour, organised business and other stakeholders.
“We even had the acting minister of police say to us the other day that it’s starting to feel like the 1980s.
“So together and also in our different spheres of influence, we are all pushing for basic services to be delivered to communities and businesses.”
The AGM was convened under the theme “Actions required to unlock the potential of South Africa and the Bay of Opportunity”.
The evening also featured a high-profile panel discussion, including the chief executive of Business Leadership SA, Busi Mavuso, and Volkswagen Group Africa managing director Martina Biene.
Van Huyssteen facilitated the discussion.
Mavuso said business had realised that the problems facing SA were too interconnected for any one person to solve.
“We have come into the business-government partnership because we understand that if government fails, if the economy fails, then business fails.
“The chamber and businesses here understand that all too well.
“Our environment in SA has not been conducive.”
Mavuso said many challenges confronted businesses in SA.
“It is unfortunate that businesses have had to be put in a position where they have to manage state failures.”
Turning to Biene, Van Huyssteen asked her to describe what it felt like to operate in the city’s business environment.
Biene said there were opportunities in the city but more needed to be done.
“We are the most fixable Bay,” she said.
“As car manufacturers, we are united.
“In the market, of course, we do compete.
“When you drive to Kariega you’ll find all these potholes and you think it’s probably not very difficult to fix.”
She said damage to the company’s fleet had cost R900,000 from January to April.
The municipality has not had an asphalt contract since August 2025.
However, the city is busy with assessments to quantify the estimated cost of pothole repairs across the metro.
“It’s not a lack of budget or budget availability. I don’t actually know what the lack is,” Biene said.
Asked if there were any parallels with bigger metros, Mavuso said there was a lack of infrastructure maintenance.
“We celebrated a year without load-shedding a few days ago.”
However, she said unplanned power outages still took place.
“It’s because there’s been a failure by the municipalities to maintain the distribution infrastructure,” Mavuso said.
“They get the electricity from Eskom but they have to transmit the electricity into the households, and they are failing because, for whatever reason, they have not taken care of the necessary maintenance.
“We sit with that same problem in Johannesburg, in Ekurhuleni.
“But I think the problem in Nelson Mandela Bay is even bigger and that much more important because this network is strategically positioned for the auto sector and the construction sector.”
She said that when it came to tackling youth unemployment, manufacturing stood out as the sector with the greatest potential to absorb large numbers of young job-seekers.
“So if Nelson Mandela Bay fails, it therefore fails the industry that can shift the economics of SA.
“It therefore disadvantages the majority of the citizens of this country from accessing and participating in the economic mainstream.”
Mavuso said the municipality could make a strong case for investment by pointing to a business community that was willing to roll up its sleeves and address the city’s challenges.
“You are adopting leaks, you are adopting substations, you are adopting potholes, you are adopting schools, you are adopting everything,” Mavuso said.
Martina urged the government to fix the basics to retain and attract more investment in the country.
Meanwhile, the chamber appointed new board members, including Aspen executive general manager Branson Bosman; SPAR Eastern Cape managing director Solly Engelbrecht; Absa corporate and investment banking managing director Hazel Khumalo; Ulimo Industrial Group chair Daliwonga Mangana; Goldberg & de Villiers Inc managing director Tracey Mouton; Shatterprufe managing director Arthur Mtombeni; Santova Logistics Eastern Cape regional head Lance Petersen; and Rabia Transitions founder and director Dr Chantal Naidoo.
Chamber president Kelvin Naidoo said the strengthened board came at a pivotal moment for the region’s economy.
“As the chamber sharpens its focus on driving economic growth, strengthening investor confidence and advocating for a more enabling business environment, the calibre of leadership within our governance structures is absolutely critical,” Naidoo said.
“We are exceptionally proud to welcome a group of leaders whose experience is not only extensive but deeply aligned to the structural needs and opportunities within Nelson Mandela Bay.”
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