The address
Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Comrade Babalwa Lobishe, will deliver the State of the Metro Address on Thursday, 10 September 2026, setting out the administration’s priorities for the current financial period and reporting on progress made since the ANC-led coalition government took office.
The address will begin at 18H00 and will be broadcast live on Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s media platforms and through various radio stations.
For residents, the address will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the Executive Mayor about the state of the metro, the work already undertaken by the current administration and the priorities that will shape the next phase of service delivery and development.
A report on the work of government
The State of the Metro Address comes as Nelson Mandela Bay continues to deal with the practical pressures facing a major metropolitan municipality: water security, sanitation, roads, public transport, waste management, infrastructure maintenance, financial sustainability and the need to expand opportunity across communities.
Mayor Lobishe is expected to reflect on the administration’s progress in improving basic services and strengthening municipal infrastructure. This includes work in water and sanitation, roads and transport, public health, waste removal and the upgrading of public spaces.
The address will also provide a platform to explain how the municipality intends to carry the work forward during the current financial period.
A state-of-the-metro address should not be understood as a list of announcements alone. It is an account of what has been done, what has changed, what remains difficult and what the administration intends to do next.
That makes Thursday’s address significant for residents across the metro.
A municipality in transition
Nelson Mandela Bay is being governed under coalition conditions, requiring the ANC to lead through engagement, negotiation and cooperation with other parties in council.
That political reality has made continuity and accountability especially important. The ANC-led administration has had to maintain services, respond to infrastructure pressures and pursue development priorities while working in a council where no single party holds an outright majority. The ANC remains the largest party in the council but requires coalition partners to govern.
Against that background, Mayor Lobishe’s address will be closely watched for the administration’s assessment of progress since 2023 and its plans for consolidating delivery.
The key question for residents is whether the municipality can turn its priorities into visible improvements in the communities where people live.
The service-delivery agenda
The address is expected to speak to the areas that most directly affect households. These include:
- Access to water and sanitation
- The reduction of the bucket-system backlog
- Upgrades to water-treatment and wastewater-treatment facilities
- Road construction and pothole repairs
- Sidewalk and stormwater infrastructure
- Waste collection and fleet capacity
- Public-health interventions
- The upgrading of public parks and community spaces
- Municipal finances and infrastructure investment
The ANC’s local-government message has been that municipalities must be judged by whether they improve the daily lives of residents. Nelson Mandela Bay’s recent service-delivery programme has highlighted 97.7% household access to water, 95.7% access to sanitation and approximately 1 100 fewer households using the bucket system.
The metro has also reported progress in roads and transport, including the tarring of 7.1 kilometres of gravel roads, the construction of 6.7 kilometres of sidewalks and the launch of the Fill Up the Bay pothole-repair campaign.
In public health and environmental management, the administration has highlighted basic waste-removal services, upgrades to more than 21 public parks and the unveiling of a new compactor-truck fleet valued at R34 million.
The State of the Metro Address is expected to place these achievements within the wider programme of building a municipality that works for its people.
Priorities for the year ahead
The most important part of the address will be what comes next. Residents will want clarity on:
- Which projects will receive priority in the current financial period
- How the municipality will improve the reliability of water and sanitation services
- How it will address ageing infrastructure and maintenance backlogs
- How the pothole-repair campaign will be monitored
- How waste collection will be strengthened
- How the administration will support local economic development and job creation
- How coalition government will maintain stability and accountability
- How residents will be kept informed about progress
A strong State of the Metro Address must connect policy to place. It must tell residents not only what the municipality plans to do, but where the work will happen, who will benefit and how progress will be measured.
A moment of accountability
The address is also an accountability moment.
Residents have the right to hear what has been achieved, but they also need an honest assessment of the problems that remain. Nelson Mandela Bay continues to face infrastructure backlogs, service pressures and financial constraints. The municipality’s own planning documents identify continuing challenges in water, sanitation, informal settlements and maintenance.
That does not diminish the progress that has been made. It makes the mayor’s responsibility clearer.
The purpose of a State of the Metro Address is to establish a public record. It should give residents a basis for judging the administration over the months ahead.
For the ANC, this is an opportunity to demonstrate that coalition leadership can provide stability, focus and measurable delivery. It is also an opportunity to show that the movement has listened to residents, learned from the difficult years and returned to the practical work of building better communities.
Watch the address live
Comrade Babalwa Lobishe will deliver the State of the Metro Address on Thursday, 10 September 2026, from 18H00, broadcast live on Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s media platforms and through various radio stations.
Residents are encouraged to follow the address and engage with the municipality’s public platforms as the administration sets out its programme for the year ahead.
The State of the Metro Address will be a report on where Nelson Mandela Bay stands, and a statement of where the city is going next.
Follow the state of the metro
The People’s Register reports on Nelson Mandela Bay municipal government and the delivery record the mayor will report against.
Sources and further reading
This preview draws on the public planning record of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and on the current composition of the municipal council.