Nelson Mandela Bay councillors want answers on deadly R75

On 1 September 2025, Daily Maverick launched Clock Watch, an accountability countdown to see when the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality would take decisive action to improve the condition of the R75, the arterial route between Gqeberha, Despatch and Kariega.

Offline traffic lights, dead street lights, stolen cables, vandalism and a string of other challenges have been highlighted as the route remains a serious safety hazard for motorists and pedestrians alike.

Today, 11 September, marks 17 days since municipal spokesperson  Sithembiso Soyaya said “immediate restoration is being prioritised”. Soyaya made the statement seven days before Clock Watch was launched.

Read More: Waiting for action — why we won’t let go of Nelson Mandela Bay’s notorious R75

On Thursday, 11 September, during a municipal safety and security committee meeting, the beleaguered R75 was again put under the microscope, with local councillors demanding answers from acting executive director of safety and security Shadrack Sibiya, on when progress would be made on the degraded route.

Shortly before the meeting began, two people, a brother and sister, were killed when the car they were travelling in collided with another vehicle. 

During the meeting, councillor Gustav Rautenbach referred to a motion he submitted on 30 May wherein he raised certain concerns about the R75. In his submission, he quoted shocking figures on accidents involving motor vehicles and pedestrians.

Over a period stretching from April 2024 to May 2025, 166 accidents were reported on the road and 26 people died, nine of whom were pedestrians.

The figures also revealed that 489 serious injuries and 578 minor ones were reported. Rautenbach said these were the figures available at the time he submitted his motion, and that the latest figures would, in all likelihood, paint an even worse picture.

Many of these accidents were attributed to the lack of proper lighting and traffic control measures along the road. Traffic lights at crucial intersections and at busy pedestrian crossings have been out of operation since 2021, some of which have been cut down and stolen, while streetlights have similarly been vandalised and left dysfunctional.

Read more: Communities threaten to close R75 as lack of traffic lights claims three lives

Rautenbach said Sibiya had responded since the submission of his initial motion, but he believed the acting executive director’s answer left much to be desired.

Sibiya’s response said meetings and site visits had been conducted along with officials from the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) in May, and plans had been developed to improve the conditions of the road.

But Rautenbach said in rejection of Sibiya’s response that there was no indication of what these strategies entailed or how long the improvements would take.

“Are we serious about our people’s lives? Are we really serious about our motorists and pedestrians? How many more families will have to come to that road to identify their dead children?” Rautenbach asked.

Read more: Is this Nelson Mandela Bay’s most dangerous road?

Zukile Madikane and members of the Ikhaka Le Africa civic movement, who have been volunteering along the R75 to help pedestrians, also attended the meeting. While they were there only to observe proceedings, some councillors lauded them for their efforts and suggested that they receive funding to better serve the community.

While other councillors supported the idea of giving them more resources, they also indicated that this did not change the fact that infrastructure was the overriding concern.

Sibiya tried to reassure Rautenbach that there were plans in place with Sanral and said he would source documents and minutes from their meetings for councillors interested in seeing them.

Despite traffic lights and streetlights falling within the municipality’s responsibilities, Sibiya maintained that Sanral was the main custodian of the R75. “It does not help to shout at us,” he said.

At Sibiya’s request, director of traffic Warren Prins shed some light on efforts to improve safety along the road. 

He said that over three months, their law enforcement officials had implemented speed enforcement and recorded the speed of more than 15,000 vehicles over a period of 262 hours. While many speeding infringements were captured, the highest speed recorded was 136km/h on a road with a speed limit of 80km/h.

Prins said law and speed enforcement were aimed at changing the behaviour of motorists and pedestrians, and by enforcing adherence to the rules, making it safer for everyone.

However, infrastructure and expanding communities were among the biggest challenges, according to Prins. He specifically referred to expanding informal settlements that constructed their own intersections on to the R75, where motorists often drove into oncoming traffic when entering the roadway.

Prins agreed with Sibiya that Sanral was the custodian of the R75, but said the road agency’s past efforts to improve infrastructure on the road had been disturbed by the local community.

“The contractors were chased away by the community. This is where politicians and councillors have to play a role, to engage with these communities. The R75 is a collective problem that will require the community, the municipality and Sanral to solve,” Prins said. 

Regarding the accident involving two cars that took place on the R75 between Kwadwesi and Missionvale on 11 September at 9.15am, police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said police were investigating a case of culpable homicide. DM