The Herald (South Africa)
ANC conference: On your marks, get set ... wait, what?
With the ANC’s Eastern Cape elective conference hanging in the balance, confusion and defiance reigned last night after a last-minute court order cast doubt on the gathering. An interim interdict granted by the high court in KuGompo City cast...
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WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE
Situation a major threat to well-known Walmer deli Petrol station becomes a community hub amid crisis Residents face danger and hunger during 21-day outage Test week chaos as disaster hits students in Summerstrand Accommodation provider tells of...
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Mayor grilled and roasted in fiery exchange
A bruising parliamentary showdown exposed a broken Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, with MPs accusing mayor Babalwa Lobishe of disrespecting parliament, failing to respond to repeated correspondence and presiding over a disorganised and unaccountable...
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Emotions run high as ‘Prime Evil’ faces scrutiny in court
More than 11 years after his last public appearance, Eugene de Kock — the apartheid-era Vlakplaas death squad commander infamously known as “Prime Evil ”— appeared in the Gqeberha high court yesterday under heavy police guard. The families of the late...
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Uphill battle to fund repairs amid Bay’s Dark Age
Nelson Mandela Bay’s electricity department is operating without a budget or contract for critical high-voltage infrastructure, owing contractors about R60m. This comes as the city is scrambling to fund repairs following repeated pylon collapses that...
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Latest power muck-up could take 21 DAYS to fix
A third pylon collapse in just a few months has cut electricity to large parts of Gqeberha, with residents and businesses now bracing for a gruelling period of disruption as repairs are expected to take 21 days. A series of pylon collapses has led to...
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Power crisis puts the brakes on auto industry
Nelson Mandela Bay’s failing electricity infrastructure is battering industries in the city, stifling production and eroding the metro’s global competitiveness. Unplanned outages, failing pylons and years of neglect have turned power supply into a...
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Fire department on the verge of burnout
A fire engine bought for R11m during the 2010 Fifa World Cup has reportedly been sitting idle for the past three years as the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s fire department battles a deepening operational crisis. Multiple fire engines across the...
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Photos and crime scene details under scrutiny in Terblanche trial
Questions over the integrity of the crime scene where Vicki Terblanche was killed surfaced in the Gqeberha high court yesterday after the defence highlighted inconsistencies regarding forensic photographs and the discovery of drugs next to her...
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‘Our animals will have a new home soon’
In just seven weeks, the Uitenhage SPCA has managed to raise R2.7m — a goal that seemed impossible when the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality first gave the animal welfare organisation notice to vacate the premises. The Herald reported at the end of...
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‘Terblanche doesn’t know what case he must actually meet’
Lawyers for murder accused businessman Arnold Terblanche have challenged the state to identify who it believes actually killed his estranged wife, Vicki. This comes after two key witnesses — her boyfriend Reinhardt Leach and his friend, Dylan Cullis —...
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Oops ... It happened again!
Repeated warnings, including on Monday, that pylons on the 132kV Chelsea–Arlington line were at risk of collapse did not prevent large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay from being plunged into darkness yet again. The rusted transmission tower collapsed...
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Concerns raised over funds for Ebubeleni fest, U’hage Picnic
The Nelson Mandela Bay council has authorised the payment of R5.2m for the 2025 Ebubeleni Music Festival and Uitenhage Picnic — a decision some councillors say is unlawful and could leave officials accountable for irregular expenditure. The funding...
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Bay councillor accused of assaulting mother of his child
A Nelson Mandela Bay councillor appeared in the New Brighton magistrate’s court yesterday for allegedly slapping the mother of his child. The alleged incident took place in Kwazakhele on Friday. The man was arrested on Sunday and spent the night...
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Metro thirsty for permanent staff as water woes deepen
Nelson Mandela Bay has still not managed to hire a permanent boss in the infrastructure and engineering department as the city grapples with an impending water crisis. Infrastructure and engineering acting executive director Joseph Tsatsire is just...
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Grant and revenue failures force Bay budget reshuffle
The withdrawal of unspent grant funding and failure to meet revenue collection targets have left a huge hole in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s coffers, forcing a massive rejig of its 2025/2026 adjustment budget, with several long-planned...
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‘Please send the army to Kwazakhele’
MPs are pushing for the military deployment in Nelson Mandela Bay to be extended to Kwazakhele, questioning why the township repeatedly rocked by mass shootings was left off a plan meant to combat organised crime and gangsterism. During a heated...
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Lobishe hits back at critics from ANC over transformer lease
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe has launched a scathing attack on some ANC regional members, targeting critics and insisting she will not take special leave when the party’s upper structures remain silent on the R25m transformer leasing...
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‘Don’t sabotage us! We can’t take foot off the gas ’— Mabuyane
With renewed focus on the gas reserves found off the shores of Algoa Bay, any protests against further exploration would amount to sabotage, trapping the province in stagnation, premier Oscar Mabuyane warned yesterday. “Gas off the shore of Algoa Bay...
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Tax hike scrapped! The start of a road to recovery?
SA is set to catch a welcome break, with finance minister Enoch Godongwana scrapping a planned R20bn tax hike thanks to stronger-thanexpected revenue collections. Godongwana delivered his 2025/2026 R2.67-trillion budget in Cape Town yesterday, lifting...
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Lobishe must take special leave, say some ANC members
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor and ANC regional chair Babalwa Lobishe is under fire — not from the opposition benches, but from within her own ranks — as some members of the party have recommended she take special leave over the R25m transformer saga. It is...
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Inside Makana’s water woes and tender probes
As Makhanda staggers into its eighth week of crippling water outages, the spotlight has shifted sharply onto the Makana Local Municipality, with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on the brink of finalising a sweeping probe into seven controversial...
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‘Today I’ll be my son’s voice ’— J-Bay doctor’s heartfelt letter
A heartbroken doctor from Jeffreys Bay said his son would still be alive if an Eastern Cape guesthouse owner had not been stingy and had instead used qualified people to install the gas geyser at his establishment. Dr Lawton Vosloo made his views...
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Dreaded disease takes toll on farms in Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape farmers are living in fear as the scourge of footand-mouth disease (FMD) spreads in the province, killing livestock, isolating affected farms and effectively plummeting profits in the foreseeable future. And while more than 2,500 vaccines...
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How Isuzu was allegedly fleeced of R10.5m
For six years, millions of rand quietly flowed out of Isuzu Motors SA’s payroll system until employees questioned why their take-home pay did not match their payslips. The alleged scheme culminated in the arrest of a payroll administrator accused of...
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East Cape unemployment ‘a full-blown emergency’
Unemployment in the Eastern Cape has hit a crisis point, with about 32,000 job losses recorded in the last quarter of 2025, pushing the province’s unemployment rate to 42.5%. In Nelson Mandela Bay, unemployment followed this upward trend, reaching...
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Calls grow to bring the army to Bay
While Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has joined the call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to send the army to Nelson Mandela Bay, residents in the northern areas say they want soldiers to root out entrenched gang activity that has gripped their...
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Makhanda left high and dry
Makhanda is facing a water crisis, with ongoing drought, vandalised infrastructure and poor planning all contributing to the situation as residents and businesses bear the brunt. Though other parts of SA have been suffering from a lack of water,...
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What about Gqeberha, Mr President?
President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to deploy the SA National Defence Force to bolster police in the Western Cape and Gauteng, without making mention of the Eastern Cape despite its high murder rate, rampant gang violence and kidnapping...
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Smoke in the air and blood on the tar
Tree trunks and rubble burned across busy Kragga Kamma Road at dawn yesterday as angry Grogro informal settlement residents took their longrunning service delivery grievances to the streets. After protesters threw stones at SAPS members, special unit...
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Hope rises for SPCA, but what about the pound?
In a remarkable turnaround for the beleaguered Uitenhage SPCA, nearly R700,000 has been raised for the organisation in just 14 days — with donations pouring in from as far afield as New Zealand and the UK. Hearts and wallets opened up amid the turmoil...
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Ramaphosa pays tribute to Bishop Bolana during visit to Gqeberha
President Cyril Ramaphosa paid an emotional tribute to Bantu Church of Christ leader Bishop John Bolana yesterday, describing him as a fountain of knowledge and a steady voice of reason whose counsel helped guide the government and ANC through some of...
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Inside revealing weekend for ANC’s provincial leadership battle
The fight to control the ANC in the Eastern Cape played out over the weekend as factions emerged during visits to the home of late Bantu Church of Christ Bishop John Bolana in Gqeberha, further setting the stage for a highstakes battle at the upcoming...
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Look at that rust! Could power end up being a bust?
Another pylon in Nelson Mandela Bay is severely corroded and appears to be structurally compromised, edging closer to collapse and threatening a major electricity outage across large parts of the city, including areas that were hit just two weeks...
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‘AT A CROSSROADS’: Leaders look into future of auto industry
A lack of scale in the SA market, declining local production, an over reliance on certain global regions and the need for policy strengthening. These are among the key factors that need to be analysed, interrogated and improved if SA intends to...
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Von Memerty speaks out about controversial decision
A prominent South African arts figure has ignited a difficult public conversation about the right to choose when and how one dies after outlining his decision to end his own life. Ian von Memerty’s video series, Dying for a Better Life, has prompted...
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Wild Side ambience gone with the wind
The stench of sewage hovering over Gqeberha’s Wild Side is affecting recreation and tourism in one of the most picturesque parts of the city. It is not clear if the culprit is the Cape Recife Wastewater Treatment Works or its sister plant in...
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Don’t play with squirt guns, metro says as burst pipe spews
While the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality cautions against the use of toys like squirt guns, and residents are scolded for high water usage, a burst pipe near Swartkops Road has spewed clean water for so long that it has resulted in a marsh. Reeds,...
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Family tormented by questions over boy’s highway death
The parents of a 16-year-old boy thought he was safely at school when the devastating news broke that his lifeless body was lying on the N2 freeway after being struck by a vehicle. A cloud of unanswered questions hangs over the death of Enrico Koert,...
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‘Auto sector can’t afford to wait and hope’
Banking on US President Donald Trump leaving office to restore normal trade relations would be a gamble for SA’s automotive industry, with the government warning that shifts in trade policy are likely to outlast any single administration. With the...
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Glimmer of hope, but electricity war rages on
Though the timeline has shifted earlier to Thursday for the restoration of power across Nelson Mandela Bay, pylons further along the same line as those that collapsed show worrying signs of wear and tear. The outage was caused by the collapse of two...
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POWER OF THE PEOPLE: Residents shine light in darkness
The major power outage affecting large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay has sparked a wave of ubuntu in the Friendly City. Businesses, residents and politicians have pulled together since Thursday, offering up their homes and establishments to charge...
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Mandela s daughter hails verdict ’ on auction of icon s belongings ’
“My responsibility and duty as Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter, as it has always been, is to continue managing my father ’ s legacy — and that is my only concern.” These were the words of Dr Makaziwe Mandela after she emerged victorious in the...
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Our animals need us, says SPCA after bitter blow
Dozens of cats and dogs at the SPCA in Kariega face possible euthanasia as the organisation is being asked to vacate the premises it has occupied for 57 years. A long-standing relationship between the animal welfare group and the municipality ground...
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What does audit opinion say about the Bay?
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s governance failures have once again been laid bare, with red-flagged contracts, weak oversight, unlawful spending and staggering losses in basic services driving the city into yet another qualified...
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Rough start for some schools, Closed district office, security education officials concerns and infrastructure woes among some of the challenges
From the closure of a district education office due to a rental dispute to challenges regarding infrastructure and security at schools, the academic year has got off to a rocky start for some in the Eastern Cape. In one of several recent blows for...
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‘We’re taking back our streets!’
Frustrated with endless criminal activity plaguing their neighbourhoods for years, residents of the northern areas in Gqeberha have taken it upon themselves to join forces with private security to patrol their streets at night. Police, however, have...
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Water woes: Here we go again
Nelson Mandela Bay is once again edging towards a water disaster, with the metro’s combined usable dam levels slipping below the 40% mark for the first time in at least two years. The crisis is not isolated to the Bay, with municipalities along the...
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Many cheers and a few tears for Bay matrics
Scenes of jubilation were seen across Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday as thousands of matrics returned to their alma maters one last time to receive their final results and close the chapter on their school careers. From Summerstrand to Motherwell,...
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Bay clinic patients slam medicine shortages
A crisis is festering in clinics across Nelson Mandela Bay, with some reportedly experiencing staff challenges and shortages of key medical supplies, including insulin for diabetic patients. The provincial health department said it was working on...
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Desperate battle to tame raging Kouga fires
As the sun set over the Kouga area yesterday evening, the sky remained illuminated with an ominous glow from the massive fires that engulfed the region as emergency services and volunteers geared up to fight throughout the night. In scenes reminiscent...
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All hands on deck as Bay residents help battle wildfires
From firefighters to farmers, it was all hands on deck yesterday as runaway wildfires spread through Nelson Mandela Bay, resulting in the temporary closure of parts of the N2. Dozens of emergency workers were deployed to fight raging fires that...
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‘When I entered that house, my child was full of stab wounds’
A heartbroken father is struggling to comprehend a violent attack on his toddler after he found her with multiple stab wounds, lying in a pool of blood. The child is recovering in hospital. The father, speaking outside the Humansdorp magistrate’s...
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Police probe ‘racial altercation’ at ski boat club
Police in Gqeberha are investigating cases of assault and crimen injuria following an alleged racial altercation at a ski boat club during the early hours of New Year’s Day. This comes after Vincent Nair, 62, a member of the Noordhoek Ski Boat Club,...
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Sisters turn Bay into treasure island with hidden vouchers:
Sisters Tamryn and Jessica McFadzean have turned the Bay into a treasure island, with adults and children rushing to hunt down hidden vouchers scattered across the metro. What started as a way to market their company, Social Hands Marketing, has...
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Mom vs son: Courts approached in bitter dispute
A mother and her police officer son, unable to get along, have turned to the courts for protection orders against one another. The two, who are not being named, were back in court yesterday. In October, a magistrate issued a final protection order...
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Family wants answers from Dora Nginza after child’s death
Grieving Kwazakhele parents believe that critical delays and alleged misdirection by staff at Dora Nginza Hospital may have been what ultimately cost their child his life. The family is also questioning why hospital staff allegedly attempted to force...
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MBDA board suspends Qaba
Just weeks after securing an unqualified audit opinion, Mandela Bay Development Agency chief executive Anele Qaba has been placed on precautionary suspension for alleged misconduct. MBDA board chair Khulile Nzo announced his suspension in a statement...
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Murder and mayhem in Walmer Township
Eight people have been gunned down in Walmer Township within three days. The latest incident on Tuesday night ended in a shootout with the police, though the gunmen managed to get away. The killings, some taking place just streets apart, have sparked...
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Wrangle over assets adds fuel to fire for Black Impala
A legal dispute has erupted over the Black Impala restaurants, with a former executive director and shareholder demanding access to the company’s records. This comes amid allegations of unauthorised asset disposals, unlawful rebranding and unpaid...
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Financial crisis threatens Care Haven Psychiatric centre launches urgent court bid to force Bhisho to reinstate subsidy
A lifeline for some of the Eastern Cape’s most vulnerable residents is hanging by a thread as the Care Haven Psychiatric Centre in Gqeberha turns to the courts to secure a government subsidy it has relied on for 34 years. The nonprofit, which provides...
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Top legal eagle entangled in theft-probe storm
A well-known Eastern Cape lawyer and former SA National Boxing Control Commission chief executive faces having his name struck from the roll of legal practitioners pending a theft probe. Advocate Mava Malla is accused of stealing money from a client...
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‘Rest in peace, Junior King. May your music live forever’
The music industry is mourning the death of Kariega-born rapper and dancer Dugulth “Junior King” Ferreira in a head-on collision in the Free State yesterday. It is understood Ferreira, 29, was travelling between Colesburg and Bloemfontein in the early...
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‘Where are the documents?’ R656m write-off shot down
A bid to write off R656m in legal fees dating back to 2017 was rejected by councillors on Tuesday as the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality failed to provide the documents needed to justify the spending, with the information provided showing...
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CLOTHED IN DISGRACE
The “Best Dad Ever” T-shirt Robin Clarke wore to court stood in horrifying contrast to reality as the Gqeberha man was found guilty of murdering his stepdaughter by beating her to death. Little Krisley Dirker, with her bouncy blonde curls and innocent...
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Thugs target kids taking food to initiates
As the summer initiation season continues, the journey to manhood for some in Kariega has allegedly been disrupted by opportunistic and callous thieves — and now the community is saying enough is enough. Criminals have been terrorising children taking...
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Bay lawyer in costly ‘vanishing act’ probe
The Legal Practice Council (LPC) is investigating wellknown Gqeberha attorney Pumeza Bija, who formerly practised under the surname Bono, after she allegedly caused a client to lose thousands of rand by not pitching up at court. Bija must now explain...
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Salary conundrum for metro’s top finance post
For 10 months, Nelson Mandela Bay’s acting CFO, Jackson Ngcelwane, refused to sign his appointment letter as he was earning more in his previous post than the salary attached to the top finance boss job he had long been pursuing. As a budget and...
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Bay under the pump as water woes hit
A perfect storm of failing infrastructure, soaring demand, power outages and sabotage has plunged Nelson Mandela Bay into a water crisis, with large parts of the metro facing intermittent supply or none at all. In recent weeks, the metro has battled...
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Plans take flight for mega ‘airport city’
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s plans to build an aerotropolis — anchored by a new 3,300m runway and a logistics hub next to the city’s airport — cleared the first hurdle when councillors approved a conceptual framework for the multibillion-rand...
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Will Van Niekerk and Johnson get new cars?
Though the municipality seems to have no clear formal policy on when councillors should receive new cars for work, vehicle upgrades could be in the pipeline for senior Nelson Mandela Bay officials. This is if a report requesting brand new vehicles for...
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Beaches tell a tale of two cities
As Nelson Mandela Bay gears up for the annual influx of holidaymakers, a stark contrast is emerging along its coastline. Though the metro has poured resources into new surveillance cameras to safeguard sunseekers on its flagship Blue Flag beaches,...
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New R750m auto body parts factory geared for success
A R750m automobile body parts factory, hailed as a victory for localisation, was launched in Gqeberha yesterday, restoring much-needed reassurance that the region is retaining its title as the Detroit of Africa. The VSL Press Shop, which has created...
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