A symbol of power in the metro where some of the most important government decisions are made, Nelson Mandela Bay’s council chamber lies in ruin, with repair work estimated at more than R1.4m.
Yet councillors want to know if it is worth spending a single cent to repair the damage caused by vandals, since the municipality has previously resolved to find a new council building.
Known as the Woolboard council chamber, this is where all 120 Bay councillors regularly met before Covid-19.
Astonishingly, despite the building being under 24-hour security watch, no-one even knew it had been vandalised until the heavy rains.
A report tabled for noting during this week’s corporate services committee meeting detailed how the council chamber had been targeted by vandals whose wanton destruction would cost the metro R627,283.
The report was prepared by corporate services boss Nosipho Xhego.
“There was a break-in at the Woolboard council chamber. The criminals entered the building through the roof, causing damage to the roof tiles and the ceiling,” the report says.
“Due to the delays in repairing the roof, heavy rains caused more damage to carpets, paint was peeling off the walls and the air-conditioner stopped working.”
Xhego said the council chamber was in a bad state, and funds had been shifted from within facilities management to do the repair work.
Planned repair work now included:
- Waterproofing, at a cost of R152,283;
- Painting, at R95,000;
- Carpentry, at R195,000; and
- Suspended ceiling, at R185,000.
Further upgrades to the building were also to be made, including electrification, covering the floor of the whippery room and plumbing, at a cost of R783,000.
The work was expected to be completed in two months.
Since the start of lockdown in 2020, the metro has been riven by vandalism, with damages running into millions of rand.
According to an anti-vandalism intervention strategy status report presented to councillors in May, the theft and vandalism of public facilities had cost the metro at least R22m since May 25 2020.
That figure has since risen.
In Kariega, the Allanridge Public Library is in a complete state of disrepair.
Walmer Primary School had hundreds of metres of its perimeter fencing stolen during the December holidays, while in Motherwell vandals have stripped the NU30 Community Hall in a period of three months.
Not even a R50m renovation and new fence were enough to deter thieves who targeted KwaNobuhle’s James Ndulula Primary School in June.
The Finnis Street sports complex in Bethelsdorp, the Chatty Library, Newton Park Library, St George’s Park swimming pool complex, Lilian Ngoyi Sports Centre, Raymond Mhlaba Sports Centre, and the Zwide, Dan Qeqe, Gelvandale and Wolfson stadiums have also been hit.
Speaking at Thursday’s corporate services committee meeting, acting deputy director for facilities management Vivian Saayman said no-one had even known the chamber had been vandalised until it started raining.
“It was reported to us by security and since then, we’ve put extra bars on windows and we discovered they stole all the copper.
“The building hasn’t had meetings since Covid-19 but I can report that some repair work has been done,” Saayman said.
But DA councillor Rene Meyer questioned whether it was even worth repairing the facility, since the municipality had resolved to find a new council building.
The Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) was to draw up plans for the construction of a council chamber in the Selley Hall at the Feather Market Centre.
The huge revamp would cost the municipality R49m, nearly half of which would be required for a parking area outside the centre.
Due to the Covid-19 regulations, council meetings are held in four different venues; the South End fire station, Feather Market Hall, City Hall and the Noninzi Luzipho Hall.
The idea to use the Selley Hall as the new council chamber was first mooted in 2008, but the plan never took off.
According to the specifications given, Selley Hall was the only option that ticked all the boxes in terms of adequate provision of safety and security as well as the potential to accommodate councillors, the public and the media.
It can seat 250 people.
ANC councillor Makhi Feni said the money that would be used to revamp the Woolboard building could instead be used to fix councillors’ offices, which were also in a sorry state.
“The question is, is it even worth putting a single cent towards repairing the Woolboard? It’s already a mess and we’re putting money into it.
“The Woolboard needs to be demolished,” Feni said.
Corporate services chair Annette Lovemore said the Feather Market Hall also faced the threat of vandalism.
Responding to questions about a progress report, Saayman said he had approached someone from the MBDA after the Woolboard was vandalised.
“I was told planning for the new council chamber was shelved because no-one from the municipality came back to the MBDA,” Saayman said.
Xhego said a vandalism committee had been established to address the issue of vandalised buildings.
“This committee is looking at what can be saved and repaired. The Woolboard must be taken to that committee for an analysis to be made,” she said.
Feni asked that a holistic report, which included all vandalised buildings in the metro, including those in townships, be presented to the committee.
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said the last meeting held at the Woolboard building had been a hybrid council meeting on June 8.
“There are no immediate plans to use the building. It’s being fixed and there are also plans for a new council chamber,” Mniki said.
MBDA spokesperson Luvuyo Bangazi said the agency had not yet received correspondence from the municipality on making a budget available to take the process further.
“We can only assume that this was due to the budgeting process having been under way at the time,” Bangazi said.
“The task for the MBDA was to do an analysis on possible sites/buildings for a council chamber. The outcome that we delivered on was that Selley Hall was identified as the preferred site.
“We were then given the mandate to do detailed feasibility, structural assessment and costing for the project but that the NMBM would fund this. It is the confirmation of that funding that we are waiting for.
“We had made it clear that MBDA does not have the funding to undertake this cost-bearing element [detailed feasibility] of the project.”
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