NMB mayor promised working streetlights from October, but officials silent on progress

Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Ondela Kepe has filed a motion at the Nelson Mandela Bay metro council to force officials to put on paper exactly how many streetlights have been fixed in the city since October 1.

Last year after months of complaints about broken streetlights in Nelson Mandela Bay – estimated at 10,000, according to some figures – the executive mayor, Babalwa Lobishe, said during a city council meeting that light would be restored to the city’s streets from 1 October 2025.

Also read: When Nelson Mandela Bay’s mayor said ‘there will be lights’ on 1 October, was she right?

The metro’s street lights were previously managed by municipal staff. But in 2024, shocking figures were released on how unproductive and under-resourced these depots were, with metro staff taking on average 16 days to fix a single streetlight.

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s electricity depot in Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) performed worst, fixing only two of 198 broken street lights between October and December 2024, with none fixed in November of that year.

Read more: Just two street lights fixed in 90 days in Nelson Mandela Bay’s Kariega

In Motherwell, for example, only one of the 14 streetlights that were out in December 2024 was fixed.

Earlier in January this year, Daily Maverick asked the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality for a written response on how many streetlights had been replaced by contractors since 1 October 2025. We have received no response.

Neither has Kepe, who has now filed a motion to be heard as soon as possible to make officials respond to the same question. He said he has received some indication in confidential conversations, but not a single official is willing to write the number down.

On 8 January, the metro provided an “update” during an oversight visit to the streetlight project by the deputy mayor, Gary van Niekerk, who was acting mayor at the time. But again, the number of successful streetlight repairs was not mentioned. Instead, the metro’s response was: “Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality acting executive mayor, Councillor Gary van Niekerk, undertook an oversight visit to Extension 12 in Gelvandale to monitor progress on the restoration of street lighting.

“Although the area has been affected by gang-related crime and violence, work continues to improve public lighting as part of efforts to enhance community safety.

“The acting executive mayor urged residents to protect municipal infrastructure, emphasising that while the municipality is responsible for service delivery, communities also have a shared responsibility to safeguard public assets.

“The municipality reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with communities to encourage ownership and ensure the protection of streetlights and all municipal infrastructure,” its statement concluded.

Council motion calls for accountability

Kepe states in his motion that City officials were warned that the municipality was not adequately prepared to implement the streetlight project and was rushing to ensure that it kept mayor’s “promise”.

“From when the executive director first presented the implementation plan, the Democratic Alliance explicitly cautioned that: adequate materials and equipment needed to be secured well in advance; budget adjustments were required due to the absence of valid procurement contracts in the 2024/25 financial year; and failure to prepare adequately would result in implementation delays even after contractors were appointed,” Kepe says in his motion.

“These concerns were not adequately addressed, and the institution failed to prepare sufficiently for the execution of the new contracts.”

Kepe said the mayor’s promise created an expectation that the municipality is not in a position to fulfil.

The motion continues: “In January of 2026, it has become evident that: municipal stores do not have sufficient materials to address the backlog; insufficient budget has been allocated to enable all contractors to operate simultaneously; contractors servicing areas under South Depot 1 and South Depot 2, predominantly DA wards, have not commenced with work to date.”

Kepe explained that because of the municipality’s failure to maintain accurate records of faulty streetlights, contractors are required to conduct their own physical assessments, delaying work on actual repairs.

“As a result, not all faulty streetlights are being repaired, not all appointed contractors are operational and progress is occurring selectively and at a pace no faster than when no contracts were in place.

He has asked that the council vote for an instruction to be issued to the acting city manager to provide a report detailing the total number of faulty streetlights per ward and depot; the nature of the faults and materials required; current stock levels of streetlight materials; budget allocations per depot and contractor for the remainder of the financial year; and the reasons for delays in contractor commencement, particularly in South Depot 1 and 2.

He further seeks an instruction to the acting city manager that they immediately ensure the implementation of measures to secure and prioritise the procurement of critical streetlight materials; adjust or reallocate budgets, where legally permissible, to ensure all contractors can operate concurrently; and establish and maintain an accurate, centralised register of faulty streetlights.

Kepe added that he would like the council to receive monthly progress reports outlining repairs completed per ward, contractor performance, expenditure incurred versus work delivered, the remaining backlog and revised timelines – including a written assurance that future public commitments regarding streetlight repairs are made only where confirmed budgets, materials and implementation plans are in place.

Kepe said he expects his motion to be heard at the next council meeting. DM