Nelson Mandela Bay Metro illustrates the full lifecycle of municipal destruction through cadre deployment and factional politics.
In the mid-2000s, ANC factions in the metro organised themselves around control of municipal tenders. Crispian Olver, deployed as administrator by the national government in 2015, documented the extent of the rot in meticulous detail.
Olver found that the metro's procurement system had been entirely captured. Tender committees were controlled by politically connected officials who directed contracts to networks of front companies. Infrastructure maintenance budgets were diverted to connected contractors who did little or no work. The metro's bus system (Algoa Bus Company) was plundered. The Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) — a R1 billion+ project — was riddled with cost overruns and corruption. Housing projects were fronts for patronage distribution.
Ghost workers were a significant problem. The metro employed thousands of community workers, contractors, and temporary staff, many of whom existed only on paper. Their salaries were collected by politically connected individuals. When Olver attempted to clean the payroll, he faced death threats and was physically assaulted.
The metro's water infrastructure collapsed due to neglect. By 2022-2023, NMB experienced severe water restrictions, with the Nooitgedagt/Coega Water Treatment system failing and dam levels dropping dangerously. The Kouga Dam supply system — critical for the metro — was compromised by infrastructure neglect and cable theft.
Politically, the metro has been a revolving door of coalition governments since the ANC lost its majority in 2016. The DA, ANC, and smaller parties have formed and collapsed various coalitions, each using their time in power to redirect patronage rather than fix fundamental infrastructure problems.
The estimated financial impact of corruption and mismanagement exceeds R5 billion over 2008-2024. No significant criminal prosecutions of political figures have materialised.