- NMB’s Safety and Security Portfolio Committee has only convened twice in 2026.
- A committee meeting was postponed for the third time this year.
- We have written to the Executive Director of Safety and Security demanding answers.
As crime spirals out of control in Nelson Mandela Bay, with murder, shootings, gang violence, extortion, drug trafficking, and kidnapping becoming increasingly prevalent, the municipality’s Safety and Security Portfolio Committee has only convened twice in 2026.
Amidst the Metro’s crime crisis another Safety and Security Committee meeting scheduled for Friday, 12 June was cancelled and postponed to 24 July 2026.
This was the third cancellation of a sitting for a committee that is crucial in discussing and finding solutions to enhance resident safety in a Metro besieged by crime.
The severity of the crisis was highlighted in the most recently released national crime statistics. KwaZakhele Police Station is ranked first in South Africa for murder, with 59 murders recorded in just three months. New Brighton, with 45 murders, is ranked eighth nationally, and Motherwell, with 44, is ninth. Walmer (36 murders) and Kwanobuhle (35 murders) also appear in the national top 20.
Why has the municipality suddenly postponed Friday’s meeting to 24 July, a delay of nearly six weeks?
Is it because only four Metro Police vehicles are operational, while another 18 await parts? Is it because, after more than three years, the ANC/EFF coalition of chaos still cannot get the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system operational? Or is it because they do not want to explain why the Metro has no functioning high-lift fire ladder trucks, putting lives, property and our firefighters’ lives at risk?
Our residents live in fear while this government does nothing. I have now written to Acting Executive Director of Safety and Security, Shadrack Sibiya, demanding answers on why the meeting was postponed and who authorised the delay.
This chaos coalition appears more interested in postponing meetings than confronting reality. This failure against crime, continues to hurt our communities, while criminals grow in confidence.
Safety and security are not luxuries. They are the most basic responsibility of local government.
When the DA takes over government after the Local Government Elections on 4 November, we will build a safer city that will be able to assist law enforcement agencies to catch criminals, convict criminals, clean up our Metro, and get Nelson Mandela Bay working again.