Nelson Mandela Bay’s streetlight scandal — 10,000 lights out amid corruption probe

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s original contract for streetlight repair was set aside 15 months ago because of allegations of corruption and collusion. These allegations are under investigation by the Special Investigating Unit. 

Read more: Special Investigating Unit to probe streetlight tender in Nelson Mandela Bay

Since then it is estimated that about 25% of the metro’s streetlights have gone out and have not been replaced.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the metro was in the process of finalising the contract for streetlight repairs, which will require contractors to use their own equipment. He said they are expecting the contractors to start work in the first week of October.

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

In her response during a September meeting with the city’s spiritual leaders, mayor Babalwa Lobishe said the contracts were awarded (in August) and they were negotiating service level agreements.

“We want to assure residents and stakeholders that decisive steps have already been taken to address the backlog. The metro has undertaken a legally compliant procurement process as per supply chain management regulations and policies to appoint the relevant service providers to manage streetlights,” Soyaya said. 

He said they trust that this will address the issue across the metro.

While inspecting the metro’s collapsed maintenance fleet, the DA’s mayoral candidate for the local government elections, Retief Odendaal, said the metro had a fleet of 27 streetlight repair trucks (cherry pickers), with a staggering 16 in for repairs and seven damaged beyond repair. This means only four are operational. DM