BABALWA Lobishe has been elected as the new mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay.
Lobishe has taken over from Gary van Niekerk of the National Alliance, who resigned on Thursday morning, October 31, as part of an arrangement with the ANC.
In a unique turn of events, the two have swapped positions, with Van Niekerk now serving as the Deputy Mayor. Lobishe was elected unopposed and delivered a speech, expressing her gratitude and outlining her vision for the city.
“I am quite humbled by the responsibility bestowed upon me by the representatives of the people in the council that are called councillors,” she said.
She emphasised the importance of unity and collaboration, stating, “I think this road will be much easier if we continue to work together in the interest of our people. We would rather appreciate the support equally from our officials. But we are going to have a sit down with all of them and be able to make them understand what we want to achieve out of this administration.”
Lobishe highlighted the untapped potential of Nelson Mandela Bay, noting its natural endowments, economic opportunities, and rich history.
“The Nelson Mandela regime has so much to offer in terms of the natural endowments, in terms of the economy, in terms of its rich history around its citizenry. And I think we have not tapped on that. We can drive the city to the highest level if we work together with the residents around the issue of crime.”
Addressing the pressing issue of crime, Lobishe called for a proactive approach from the leadership.
“Crime is a societal matter, and it needs us as leadership to leave offices and be able to engage further with our people to show them how they must not participate in the value chain of criminality.
“It has been proven beyond doubt that most of the deaths that we are interfacing with are orchestrated through insurance policies and through the extortion processes. So, how we wish that we can have those conversations with our people and also show them the ability of our city to take charge around lawlessness.”
She assured the public of her commitment, “We are going to make sure that our Metro police is fully functional.
“It utilises its mandate whether at the beachfront against those who want to be chance takers around the beachfront and to the last ward in the location because we want to enforce our by-laws and also make sure that our coastal city is in order.”
In closing, Lobishe expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve as mayor. “We therefore thank you very much for the opportunity.”
