A multifunctional streetlight in Motherwell has been out of order for nearly 2 years. Photo by Joseph Chirume.
By Joseph Chirume
Motherwell
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has finally relented to mounting pressure from residents and political parties to repair tens of thousands of malfunctioning streetlights in the municipal area of jurisdiction.
Concerned residents blame darkness for the escalating crime in almost every part of the city caused by a lack of streetlights. The Metro ranks among many areas in the country where crime is rampant and this is evident in the quarterly and annual crime statistics reports that paint a bleak future as far as human safety is concerned.
Recently in September 2025, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Nelson Mandela Bay wrote to the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC, Zolile Williams, requesting him to invoke Section 106 of the Municipal Systems Act to investigate maladministration in NMB.
The DA NMB Mayoral candidate, Retief Odendaal, said in a statement, “Poor governance, corruption and incompetence have led to a catastrophic streetlight crisis in NMB, among many other service delivery failures.
“It is estimated that over 10,000 of the Metro’s 40,000 streetlights are non-operational, which has plunged the municipality into darkness, allowing crime to run rampant and lives to be lost in road accidents.”
Odendaal added that the dire situation in NMB is a direct result of the municipality’s collapsing infrastructure and bad governance and “… woefully inadequate maintenance fleet.”
“While the Metro has a fleet of 27 streetlight repair trucks (cherry pickers), a staggering 16 are in for repairs, and seven are damaged beyond repair, leaving only four operational vehicles to service the entire Metro.
“The original contract for streetlight repairs was set aside 15 months ago because of allegations of corruption and collusion. Since then, nothing has happened, which I suspect is largely due to financial interest.”
Odendaal informed residents that he had written to MEC Williams insisting that he immediately launch an investigation.
“I have also reinforced the recent words of President Cyril Ramaphosa around best practice in municipal governance,” said Odendaal.
Odendaal then drew comparisons with the City of Cape Town, which handles most faults within 72 hours.
“Similarly, the Kouga Local Municipality repaired 1,324 streetlights between June 2024 and August 2025, with a clear service charter for timely repairs,” he said.
Odendaal concluded by saying that, “The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s failure to maintain its streetlights is a serious dereliction of duty that compromises public safety and hinders economic activity.”
However, the Executive Mayor of NMB, Cllr. Babalwa Lobishe rushed to cool down the flames during her address to local residents informing them that the municipality has appointed contractors to start fixing the streetlights from the beginning of October 2025.
Cllr Lobishe said, “I am coming to inform you that we have concluded as the city the lengthy procurement process for acquiring new service providers for streetlights.
“This is by means of responding to your call to end the darkness in some parts of the city which has a bearing on the safety of our residents. We therefore confirm that the darkness will be a thing of the past. On the 1st of October 2025, contractors are going to start doing the work.”
This gave relief to several residents, including a food hawker at the popular Crossroads Taxi rank in Motherwell. She requested her name not to be mentioned as she was afraid of retribution from criminals.
“Let’s hope that this is not a campaign gimmick. This area is notorious for criminals who turn it into a war zone at night, taking advantage of the darkness.
“As hawkers, we wake up around 3am to catch the first taxi, but there are several violent scenes we witness, including passengers walking to the taxi rank being robbed and attacked. I am happy that there are contractors appointed and let’s wait for the 1st of October to see whether the Mayor sticks to her promise,” said the hawker.
