Burnt, looted and abandoned — how NMB storage depot went to rack and ruin

Neglect and failures to secure municipal assets have rendered a Nelson Mandela Bay building in Despatch a dilapidated ruin, after repeated break-ins and acts of vandalism in 2025.

Items including computer equipment, furniture and fittings, printers, telephones and laptops that were stored in the roads and stormwater depot building were stolen, destroyed, vandalised, damaged and burnt. The building itself was also vandalised and burnt.

Despite officials informing a corporate services and human resources committee meeting on 9 April that criminal cases had been opened, metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya was unable to provide the case numbers, saying he was struggling to obtain them.

The break-ins began early in 2025, when the perimeter fence was cut and stolen. Security guards were reportedly unable to secure the site, as armed perpetrators also vandalised the guardhouse.

The city provided a second guardhouse, but guards still felt unsafe due to the missing perimeter fence.

How it all went down

A month-long wave of criminal activity beginning on 30 June 2025 culminated in the total stripping of the facility. The timeline of the destruction is as follows:

• 30 June: The corporate services directorate was alerted to a fire at the main asset disposal site’s storeroom. Offices had been broken into and ransacked, and assets destroyed or stolen.
• 10 July: Intruders forced open a reinforced burglar door to access the storeroom. Obsolete computers were smashed and strewn across the yard.
• 21 July: Perpetrators bypassed security by prying open a garage door. They left equipment by the exit and abandoned other items in an adjacent open field.
• 22 July: Looting continued as more assets were scattered across the property. A grading machine was used to clear the debris to allow vehicles access.
• 30 July: All the remaining steel doors had been stolen.

Missing and stolen assets

In a report tabled at the HR committee, asset management director Tembisa Nompandana revealed that many of the metro’s assets had been delivered to storage depots without following proper procedures.

A total of 2,572 items with a combined value of more than R403,000 were delivered to the main asset disposal storeroom in Despatch.

“[However], according to close-out reports received from the various directorates regarding municipal assets not verified, a total of 1,404 with an approximate book value of R315,000 were reported to have been lost/missing or stolen and were delivered to the stores without following proper asset disposal procedures,” reads the report.

“Most of these assets were delivered to these stores without following proper asset disposal procedures, of which it is believed that they could be part of the assets burnt in dispatch stores around the main storeroom.”

Methods of disposal

The budget and treasury directorate originally attempted to offload broken, redundant and obsolete assets through public auctions. This strategy involved grouping items into lots to entice bidders; however, the initiative proved largely unsuccessful.

The department has transitioned to a revised model that involves grouping assets and inviting direct public offers.

Called to account

DA councillor Rene Meyer submitted questions to the committee in line with council rules, raising concern over the security and management of municipal assets following the destruction at the Despatch depot.

“This item as a whole is concerning as it highlights the fact that our stores are not safe. Assets were destroyed here, but could rather have been sold off to make money for the municipality. I do note, however, that an attempt has been made to sell anything that could be salvaged,” she wrote.

Questions she asked included:

• It is stated that most of the assets were delivered to the stores without following proper asset disposal procedures. Why are offices still able to bypass the procedures?
• What is being done about it, and how is the city preventing recurrence in the future?
• We are requested to scrap an additional 1,404 items and remove them from the register. Were reports filed for all of these lost/ stolen assets, as per the policy?
• The report lists computers and laptops as stolen and requiring disposal. Have all of these been reported as per the missing asset guidelines? Are cases open?
• A reason for disposal is often listed as “Unknown by responsible staff member”. What does this mean?
• A reason for disposal is often listed as “Not known by the incumbent”. Did anyone check with the former staff member where these items are and what process was followed to determine they could not be found?

According to the response to Meyer’s questions in the HR committee agenda, certain officials bypassed established disposal procedures to evade responsibility.

The response notes that staff across various directorates occasionally ignore protocols to avoid accountability, often shifting the blame to former colleagues.

To improve accountability, the reply emphasises that directorate asset controllers must ensure all departing employees account for the municipal property listed in their office inventories.

ANC councillor Bongani Mani said reports often stated that cases had been opened after incidents of criminality, but there was rarely any follow-up on their outcomes.

“Can we get a confirmation by way of case numbers that indeed the incidents were reported to the police? I say this because I fear that we may sit here with an asset audit that states the incidents were reported to the police and later find it was not done.”

Vulnerable location

DA councillor Roelf Basson said the location of the storage building made it vulnerable to break-ins and vandalism.

“When you look at the location of the building, questions arise: Is it suitable for a depot lot to be in that place? Is it in a conducive area where it won’t be vandalised?

“The stores were well kept and functional until the vandalism started. You can’t blame the security guards for running away from the place, because if one guard is posted in that little hokkie [guardhouse] and there’s armed people coming while they have nothing to protect themselves, what should they do?”

The political head of the metro’s corporate services department, Khusta Jack, said, “I’ve been to the site of the building and saw the damage. There’s nothing to salvage because everything is destroyed. All we request, as this committee, is support from councillors to scrap everything so we can take this item to council for final approval.”

Nompandana said the metro had been struggling to secure a municipal building to replace the destroyed depot.

“It remains a challenge to find a safe store that will be central to where it’s required the most,” she said. DM