Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Danny Jordaan, said his administration won't be swayed by attempts to undermine housing delivery in the Metro.
Jordaan was commenting on the attempted theft of trolley-loads of housing documents from a municipal building by five officials.
They were caught by security officials and charges have been laid.
According to the spokesperson for the Department of Human Settlements, Xolani Xundu, they were alerted to the theft while preparing for the visit by the Minister of Human Settlements.
Speaking during a clean-up operation in Walmer Township on Friday, Jordaan described the attempted theft as a desperate measure by people who he said want to halt progress.
"It is a sign of desperation,we will have to deal with those matters but we are determined to accelerate housing delivery, to transform the conditions under which people have been living for many years and so whoever is fustrated by the accelerated process,whoever is wants to embark on criminal and illegal acts inorder to disrupt the progress unfortunately those attempts were frail" he said.
Meanwhile, Human Settlements Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, was in the Metro during which time she handed over houses to beneficiaries in Walmer Township and also to oversee a clean-up operation in Q Section on Friday.
She offered the following comment on the theft attempt.
"For me the sign of desperation the mayor is talking about can only mean those people who stand against progress are beginning to feel that we are progressing,otherwise they would not take such desperate measures.So on the other hand while I hope that by the time leave they are in jail,I am also quite comfortable that their impact is getting through everybody that we are here and we have intervened, we are working very closely together with the metro and we are delivering" she said.
