It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to be standing before you as your mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay.
All of us who live here absolutely love this place. The third largest coastal city in South Africa with one of the most moderate climates on the continent, 40 kilometres of unspoilt beaches, but even more importantly – 1.3 million of the most friendly, gracious, resilient, strong and powerful people in the country.
In which other City in the world can you swim with dolphins, dive with great white sharks or humpback whales or find the Big 5 roaming around in their natural, malaria-free environment a mere 35 kilometres from the city centre?
Ours is still a 20-minute-commute City. One which can offer a quality and affordable lifestyle to all. They say, “if you know, you know”. And Nelson Mandela Bay residents know that our beloved Bay is the best kept secret in South Africa.
I stand with you here today as a proud son of this city, our city. I was born and grew up right here in Algoa Park, playing in these streets as a young boy – riding my bike and playing cricket in the streets with other kids, walking to and from school every day.
We grew up simply. My dad worked at Continental and my mom looked after me and my siblings. Our home was modest, but there was love, joy and hope.
But from as young as I can remember, I noticed the inequalities of our city, then ruthlessly split up through the system and horrors of Apartheid. Algoa Park is just a few kilometres away from Helenvale, or Katanga soos ons dit ken. As an 8-year-old, I remember hearing Apartheid police gunshots ringing out across the valley and wondered why such violence was so commonplace in certain areas.
Later on, I heard the stories of people forcibly removed from places like South End and relocated to outlying parts of the city. The injustice and brutality of those years have left wounds that will take generations to heal.
This is an historic place, steeped in stories passed through generations, of triumphs over inequality, heroic legacies of selflessness and strength. A people torn apart and brought together, with a renewed sense of community and loyalty to this place we call home. Our Bay.
1994 signalled a brand-new era for South Africa and the opportunity for democracy to bring hope to all. As it was then known, Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage were some of the first towns in the country to begin non-racial transformation under the Transitional Executive Council, beginning in 1994 ahead of the first local government elections in 1995.
This would be a time for healing and rebuilding. Industry, businesses and entrepreneurs flocked to the city.
Nelson Mandela Bay, as it was known from 2000, was also one of the country’s first uni-cities, amalgamating the Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth and Despatch Town Councils. This was one of South Africa’s fastest growing industrial coastal towns with many large global corporations pouring investments into our city and scaling up operations across their sites.
20 years ago, this city was making progress. Business and political leaders from all backgrounds worked towards a common goal of getting the city working for every single resident.
In Nelson Mandela Baai het die geraas van ons fabrieke ‘n nuwe era van voorspoed en hoop ingelui. Ons was opgewonde oor die toekoms van hierdie pragtige nuwe demokrasie. Maar iewers het iets verkeerd geloop.
I love Nelson Mandela Bay with every fibre of my being.
I matriculated here, in fact at Otto Du Plessis High School, just a few kilometres from where we stand today. My sister, Annemarie, got married in this very hall.
I went to university here, at Nelson Mandela University, where I completed a law degree.
I got married here, to my beautiful wife, Annie. Together, we are raising our three children here. Ludik, Lian en Luka is hier vandag. Look at them, they are already bored out of their minds with my speech!
I set up a small law practice business here.
Here, our Nelson Mandela Bay, is home. It is home to all of us.
And for the last 20 years, I’ve been in active politics, I have fought for this city and this province.
But, as we all know and can all see, the post-1994 democratic light of hope and promise has started to fade.
For too long now, shadows have fallen across our streets – the hollow echo of a city that has lost its way. Where progress has ground to a halt.
The desperation of a father in Motherwell who has been out of work for months, unable to provide food for his young family.
We feel the weight of repeated broken promises, see the truth in the weary eyes of a mother who has lost a child to a stray bullet from gang violence in the Northern Areas.
We notice the quiet despair of a neighbour waiting years for a street light to be fixed.
Take a drive through Missionvale, KwaNobuhle, Bethelsdorp, New Brighton, Central or Uitenhage, you’ll see roads are crumbling, rubbish on most corners and sewage flowing through the streets.
No child anywhere should have to walk through sewage to get home from school. No child should have to walk out the front gate and through piles of rubbish, just to visit a friend.
Every third traffic light, every fourth streetlight, every second road. Broken, faulty, crumbling. There are thousands of stories, your stories, our stories, just like this. And I hear you all. I know it feels hopeless. But, listen to me, the light of hope may have dimmed, but…it…is not out!
We can, at any moment, choose a different path. We can say, “this far, and no further.”
Every 5 years, we get to choose who runs our city. We get to choose between crime and safety, between jobs and indignity, lit streets or darkness. We get to choose by exercising our Constitutional right and duty to vote.
I know you’ve heard this all before. I know you might be tempted to sigh and ask, “Retief, why should I care? Will another election really change anything?”
My answer is always the same: Because lives and livelihoods hang in the balance, quite literally. And I also believe that this is our city’s last chance. The window of opportunity to fix our city is still open. But it is closing quickly.
I care because I want our city to be the prosperous place I know it can be, for you, for me, for our children.
I care because I want us to meet again in a few years from now and say.
“You see! We did it. The lights are back on, the potholes are fixed, the streets are clean and safe, businesses are growing, there’s work for our sons, our daughters, our grandchildren!”
I care because I know how much that matters to so many people. All of you, all of us.
The ANC has had its chance here. It has proven to us all that it cannot govern our city properly. Nor can any of the ANC’s corrupt coalition partners like the EFF or the PA.
Everything the ANC and their crony partners touch lands up broken and in ruins. Look at Johannesburg. eThekwini. Ekurhuleni. Closer to home, right here in the Eastern Cape – look at Makana (Grahamstown), Buffalo City.
Many of the towns and municipalities in the Eastern Cape look like they’ve been ravaged by war. And in many ways, there has been a war. A war of poor governance waged by the ANC against the people of this province.
Then, look right here at our home town, Nelson Mandela Bay. More of the same ANC-led destruction.
The next local government election is around the corner. This election is not about the DA against the ANC and their small party friends, it is about the people of Nelson Mandela Bay against the ANC and their small party friends, to get services back.
I’m asking you to choose hope and I’m asking you to ask everyone you know to choose hope. We need to choose to get NMB and our people working again.
BUT, we will only get the stable government we need if everyone is registered to vote and votes for the DA. Because as the President so pertinently pointed out, DA-led municipalities are well-run.
This is our moment – let’s take it.
Hierdie is ons geleentheid-kom ons gryp dit aan! Kom ons red Nelson Mandela Baai!
While I was Executive Mayor for almost nine months in 2022, our government managed to stabilise the municipal finances for the first time in years, but then the coalition of corruption snuck its way back into government. We were able to do in 9 months what the ANC couldn’t do in several years!
We were able to get the first unqualified audit opinion in 12 years. We did this by delivering services and spending public money on public infrastructure. We did this by dealing decisively with corrupt officials. And this is not me or the DA saying so, it’s the Auditor-General saying so.
We’ve had a test run, and delivered. Of course, 9 months isn’t nearly long enough to turn our city around. We need a clear 5-year term and that is only possible if you make it so.
My vision for NMB is simple and powerful:
We Can Get NMB Working Again. A City Rebuilt, one that is Safe, Well-Run and Growing.
Imagine a city where you can walk the streets without fear. Where our children can play in our parks and our homes are sanctuaries, not fortresses. We will reclaim the heart of our city by building a network of safety—not just with more metro police, but with communities that are empowered, with technology that protects, and with a relentless commitment to justice.
We will create a functional and well-resourced metro and traffic police service. We will grow the metro police, establish new precincts, and focus on enforcing by-laws that have been ignored for far too long.
We will establish an intergovernmental task force to target specific priority crimes like gangsterism, vandalism, kidnapping, and cable theft.
We will implement a network of cameras across the city, monitored 24/7 from a joint operations centre, so we can dispatch emergency services the moment a crime occurs.
We will empower neighbourhood watches by enabling members to become peace officers. I would like to take a moment to recognise each and every single member of public out there patrolling our streets, doing their best to keep our people safe, when government is failing to do so.
This is how we will break the chains of crime and violence and allow the spirit of our community to shine once more.
Imagine a city hall that works for you, not against you. A government of honest, capable and hardworking leaders with strong faith and value – men and women who see their roles not as a path to power, but as a commitment to communities.
The leaders of today are only interested in looking after their gatsakke. They drive around in fancy cars, wear fancy suits and eat at fancy restaurants. These leaders have forsaken the people of the Bay.
Getting NMB working is more than just fixing potholes and streetlights; it’s about restoring dignity and trust in our governance.
We will restore the soul of our city by building a government with a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and incompetence.
We will conduct an immediate audit of all current tender agreements, ensuring that suppliers are delivering on their promises. Any failure to deliver or evidence of corruption will result in immediate action.
We will build a firewall against corruption around our supply chain management. We will fill critical vacancies with qualified professionals—engineers, plumbers, and electricians—and hold them to the highest standard on their service delivery work.
My friend Mark Stemmet, a former city engineer and today a business owner, reminds me almost on a monthly basis that politicians must work with engineers, plumbers and artisans in order to deliver better services. We are ready to work with skilled professionals to get this city working again.
Our government will make difficult decisions without fear or favour to ensure services are delivered. We will create a professional work environment that supports excellence and deals decisively with poor performance.
We will develop a budget that truly serves our residents and monitor it monthly to ensure every cent is accounted for. This is how we restore trust. This is how we become a well-run city.
Imagine a city where opportunity is abundant, where the engine of our economy hums with renewed energy. We will unlock the future of our city by attracting investment, supporting our entrepreneurs, and creating jobs that bring purpose and dignity. From our stunning coastline to our bustling townships, we will build a city where everyone has a chance to thrive.
We will streamline the process for business applications, aiming to reduce the time it takes for new ventures to get off the ground. No longer will town planning applications take years to finalise, or 3 phase electricity connections 3 months to install. In this City, we are going to mean business.
I will chair an investment council with leaders from the private sector to identify and remove obstacles to business growth. We will identify key parcels of unused municipal land for public-private partnerships that will create jobs and social infrastructure.
We will launch a dedicated plan to boost tourism, especially in our townships, and outsource the management of our municipal resorts, which have fallen into ruin, to the private sector to restore them and create jobs.
We will incentivise corporate investment through tiered rate reduction and discount programmes. This is how we will build a city where our potential is limitless.
This is my vision for our city. But I cannot do it alone. I am asking you to join me. To join us.
Over these years, I have been part of blue team of public representatives, who have collectively battled, and continue to battle, for better services and a growing economy. People like Andrew Whitfield MP, Yusuf Cassim MPL, Kabelo Mogatosi MPL, Horatio Hendricks MPL, Cllr Rano Kayser and many other incredible ethical leaders.
We need a stable government, and that is only possible if you exercise your constitutional right to vote. The next election is our chance to choose hope.
Fixing NMB is not rocket science! We can get NMB working again.