Politics

The 1st Mayoral address by Nelson Mandela Bay's new mayor was held inside a locked City Hall on Tuesday morning as a protest by some 200 people took place outside on Vuyisile Mini Square. The protesters, who were singing and dancing peacefully, said they were representing 600 ward committee members who have had their contracts terminated without notice.

The inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay Council meeting was called off at the last minute on Wednesday following a directive from the Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA). The 120 councillors-elect arrived at the Feather Market Centre in Gqeberha dressed up for the special occasion as they were expecting to be sworn in, however, the meeting was quickly postponed by the Metro's Acting Municipal Manager, Anele Qaba, who referred to a letter he received from the COGTA MEC, Xolile Nqatha.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that the National Flag be flown at half-mast as a mark of respect for the late former Deputy President FW de Klerk.

One political party making quiet in-roads in the Eastern Cape is the Freedom Front Plus, which has won two seats in the hotly-contested Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The party also has seats in several other Eastern Cape municipalities, including Buffalo City, Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality, Kouga and Koukamma Local Municipalities.

The final vote count for the Nelson Mandela Bay metro is in and it's a narrow win for the DA following the local government elections on Monday. The IEC says the DA received 39.9% of the vote, while the ANC is a close second with 39.4 per cent.

A presiding officer in the eThekwini Metro has been arrested for allegedly stuffing marked ballots into a ballot box and earlier on Monday a journalist and his cameraman from Newsroom Afrika were also arrested for allegedly interfering with the work of the providing officer at a voting station in Orlando East in Soweto.

Members of the SA National Defence Force will be employed by Government to assist with security during the local government elections on Monday. It's anticipated the exercise will cost taxpayers over R47 million rand.

The IEC says Covid protocols will be in place next week when South Africans vote in the Local Government Elections for 2021. They have urged voters to bring their own pens, although a pen will be available in every booth that will be sanitised after every vote.

Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, is seeking a court order to set aside a decision by the Hawks to launch an investigation against him.