Nelson Mandela Bay metro executive mayor Babalwa Lobishe. (Photo: Lulama Zenzile / Gallo Images / Die Burger) 
Just over a week after the police made it clear that they had no money to implement a crime-fighting agreement with the municipality, the metro’s executive mayor Babalwa Lobishe said it was going well.
“The municipality’s crime-fighting partnership, established in September 2024, which brings together law enforcement agencies under a co-operative agreement, has a positive impact,” she said.
“We are encouraged by the progress made in structuring stakeholders through workstreams. I appeal to all directorates to actively participate in the meetings, workshops, and programmes of this co-operation agreement,” she said.
However, a week ago, Major General Vuyisile Ncata, the police district commissioner for Nelson Mandela Bay, told Kariega residents that there was insufficient funding to implement the cooperation agreement signed in August 2024 by then mayor Gary van Niekerk — who is now charged with crimes relating to the misuse of municipal money — and Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu, who is currently on leave amid allegations of links to organised crime.
Read more: Hundreds of crime victims and community leaders turn up to speak to Minister Mchunu
Ncata told the crowd that “a lack of resources” was hampering the implementation of the agreement. This included a “lack of boots on the ground”.
This agreement promised to, among other matters, use technology to fight crime in the metro.
At the signing of the agreement in 2024, Mchunu said, “It is unacceptable that Gqeberha, the heart of this metro, has earned the tragic distinction of being ranked ninth among the murder capitals of the world. These are not just statistics — each number represents a life lost, a family devastated and a community shaken.”
The metro has since been rocked by a string of violent crimes, including a hit on a prosecutor at the New Brighton Magistrates’ Court, and several kidnappings.
Lobishe, however, remained positive about efforts to fight crime in the city. “I want to appreciate the [municipal] Department of Safety and Security. The renewed commitment and agility ensures that traffic officers are doing their work. Roadblocks are held, which have a positive contribution in terms of our fight against lawlessness.
“We see the cameras that are on [provided by private companies and the Mandela Bay Development Agency], but we still want more that are linked to the metro police,” she said. “The department must do more to make an impact so that we can walk the streets of the Bay with no threat.”
Also setting residents on edge are the many kidnappings. Over the past year, at least 13 kidnappings have rocked the metro, most motivated by ransom demands.
When releasing the provincial crime statistics in July, MEC for community safety Xolile Nqatha said kidnappings had increased from 14 cases in the second quarter of 2024 to 35 cases in the second quarter of 2025.
The ACDP’s Lance Grootboom and the DA’s Rano Kayser both criticised the mayor for failing to acknowledge the seriousness of crime in the metro. Grootboom pointed out that the high security risk of non-functioning streetlights – 16,000 of the metro’s streetlights do not work.
Grootboom said Lobishe was incapable of leading the city. DM