Civil society leaders in Nelson Mandela Bay are calling for transparency and stakeholder oversight in the national government's Section 154 intervention to address the metro's challenges. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is sending a 10-person support team following a request from the municipality. Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has assured inclusion of civil society in the process, similar to efforts in eThekwini.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape, civil society organizations are emphasizing the need for transparency and broad oversight to ensure the success of the Section 154 intervention by national government. This measure aims to tackle the metro's ongoing issues in governance, service delivery, and economic development. The intervention comes after the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality formally requested assistance from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).
Executive Mayor Cllr Babalwa Lobishe expressed appreciation for COGTA's approval of the support, as noted in a municipal tweet on December 4, 2025. On Saturday, COGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa facilitated a meeting between metro officials and the Civil Society Coalition to outline collaboration strategies.
Monga Peter, chairperson of the Civil Society Coalition, voiced optimism about their role in the process. He highlighted past interventions' shortcomings, stating, “Given how it was in the past constituted, this thing is inward looking, it doesn’t speak to what the inward is doing and all of that so transparency becomes one issue and also it excludes the non-state formations like us in terms of the oversight hence then we are encouraged in the outcome of this meeting which has since recognised and accepted a need to include us in the oversight.”
Minister Hlabisa assured participants that this effort would differ from previous ones by incorporating oversight from both government and civil society, drawing parallels to the eThekwini model where business and community groups contribute significantly. He noted, “The civil society was having a concern in terms of their exclusion. We have assured them that this intervention has a similar shape to Ethekwini, where business people and the civil society play an important role, all oversight to ensure that their concerns are being taken care of.”
The 10-person task team is expected to deliver a diagnosis of the city's challenges within two months and implement a comprehensive strategy within twelve months, fostering hope for meaningful improvements in the metro.