The Herald (South Africa)
Dams are full, but ‘we still need better governance’
If we want to protect the bountiful new water supply filling Nelson Mandela Bay dams and avoid sliding back into a drought crisis in two years’ time, an improvement in governance is non-negotiable. That is the word from experienced water engineer and...
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FLOODING MISERY: ‘We can’t lose what little we have left!’
Nelson Mandela Bay’s flood disaster escalated dramatically on its second day of relentless rainfall, with rising water levels displacing families and submerging homes — yet many refused to evacuate over fears of looting. Despite the municipality...
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Drama amid the deluge
Chaos unfolded across the metro and much of the province yesterday as an overnight storm displaced residents, flooded homes and even tore a swimming pool from its foundation, underscoring the sheer force of the weather. With Nelson Mandela Bay schools...
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Heartfelt tributes for coffee shop owner after freak accident
Flowers were laid on the deck of a popular Gqeberha coffee shop yesterday as grief-stricken patrons returned to the scene of a freak accident in which the owner was killed when a generator caught fire. The shock incident at Indulge Coffee Shop on...
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FATAL CRASH
Distraught family members stood behind the tape cordoning off the scene as emergency workers attended to the horrific wreck of an accident in which eight people were killed and multiple others injured yesterday. Police are investigating a case of...
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BEACHES RED-FLAGGED
Nelson Mandela Bay’s prized Blue Flag beaches are under threat, with a municipal report warning that safety and security failures could ultimately cost the metro its internationally recognised status at key coastal sites. Losing a Blue Flag status...
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Nqwazi vows to return to City Hall today
Arguing that her suspension has become unlawful after two years without a formal hearing having begun, Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Noxolo Nqwazi intends to return to work today, the second time she has invoked a delay to reclaim her post. Nqwazi...
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What Krisley Dirker’s life could have been
In a powerful and haunting moment in the Gqeberha high court, the state presented an AI-generated image of what Krisley Dirker might have looked like today had she not died after being beaten by her stepfather as a toddler. The unconventional step...
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Frustration and fears over ballooning municipal arrears
Overdue municipal arrears in Nelson Mandela Bay have surged to R22.6bn, with the metro’s staff owing R6.77m for rates and services. This has prompted the municipality to start salary deductions and formal repayment arrangements with staff. The...
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Major Gqeberha reservoir’s little room of horrors
The scourge of vandalism has reared its ugly head at the critical Mount Road Reservoir, with a disgusting discovery in a small room on the premises raising serious concerns. With evidence of vagrants living at the facility — and engaging in unhygienic...
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Slammed prosecutor from Omotoso trial gets another major job
Despite being replaced as prosecutor in two high-profile cases amid a judicial finding of unethical conduct, advocate Nceba Ntelwa has resurfaced at the centre of another major case — this time as part of a specialised task team handling matters...
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ARTS FEST: Makhanda in dire straits, but show must go on
Despite the crumbling infrastructure and never-ending water woes in Makhanda, the National Arts Festival (NAF) will go ahead in June. Organisers say though they have noted the multiple issues in the small city, these will not affect the popular...
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‘We are serving a life sentence without Jayde’
On the 11th anniversary of Jayde Panayiotou’s murder, her family are once again being forced to relive their loss as they gear up to oppose parole for one of the men behind her killing. Having served eight years of his 15-year prison sentence for...
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Vulnerable children at risk of being turned away
A Gqeberha-based child protection organisation says it is being forced to turn away vulnerable children, including abuse victims, because it has run out of space, highlighting a growing crisis in the city’s care system. The Zanethemba Charity...
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Gqeberha rolls out red carpet for Ironman
The Gqeberha esplanade was packed with thousands of athletes and supporters as they lined the street to experience one of the continent’s most gruelling endurance races, the 2026 Isuzu Ironman African Championship. Nelson Mandela Bay was out in its...
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‘We don’t feel valued at Aspen’
About 150 jobs are at risk at the Gqeberha facility of Aspen Pharmacare’s South African Operations, a situation that has created anxiety among workers who say repeated retrenchments have pushed morale to an all-time low and left them feeling...
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Stage set for Malema’s big day
The EFF has conceded that the ongoing firearm-related case against its leader, Julius Malema, could disrupt the party’s preparations for this year’s local government elections, regardless of the outcome of the court process. Party secretary-general...
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Perly poachers’ ‘military-style’ takeover
Seaview and Kini Bay residents were on high alert yesterday waiting for another invasion of perlemoen poachers after the mayhem from the day before. Taking advantage of flat, crystal clear seas, the poachers have been arriving by the bakkie load each...
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Claws out as saga between metro, SPCA rages on
In the latest development in an escalating cat-and-dog fight, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has signalled it is going the legal route to evict the Uitenhage SPCA, but lawyers for the animal welfare organisation are having none of it. Bay public...
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Dogfight brews over new SPCA property
A new property which was hoped would secure the future of the Uitenhage SPCA, thanks to a R2.7m lifeline, has instead been at the centre of a fierce standoff in the farming community of Kruisrivier, where angry neighbours arrived at the site yesterday...
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Art museum paints a picture of despair
Buckling under years of neglect, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum is facing a deepening crisis, with leaking roofs, a gutted staff structure and failing safety systems placing its priceless collection at risk. Galleries have been closed for...
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‘Welcome to the Bay, soldiers!’
Cheers echoed through the streets of Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday as 290 members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) rolled into the metro. Children ran alongside military vehicles, waving and shouting in excitement, while elderly residents stood...
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‘Disturbing discoveries’ at pound spark legal action
The Animal Anti-Cruelty League (AACL) has taken the newly appointed operator of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal pound to court with allegations of neglect including puppies going hungry and lactating dogs being left with no blankets in filthy...
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Lobishe survives, but what now?
After Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe survived two no-confidence motions yesterday, the council is setting up an ad hoc committee to investigate claims that parliament’s requests for information were ignored. The recommendation came from the...
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Help us to remove mayor, smaller parties tell ANC
Several smaller opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay are urging the ANC to back an expected motion of no confidence against mayor Babalwa Lobishe today, offering her party the opportunity to appoint her replacement. Lobishe faces two motions...
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STINGING: Chief of staff accuses mayor of lying to parly
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe is facing an explosive backlash from her chief of staff, Mlungisi Lumka, who has accused her of scapegoating him and lying to parliament as the city spirals deeper into crisis under her watch. In a blistering...
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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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