‘Protection racket' threatens bid to save Nelson Mandela Bay's historic ‘Smartie Bridge'
A hard-won community victory to save Gqeberha's oldest bridge has stalled amid allegations of a protection racket.
In November last year communities living around the historic Wylde Bridge joined forces to campaign for the restoration of the bridge.
They urged the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to upgrade the entrance and exit points on the bridge to prevent trucks from using it.
Their protests and petitions paid off when the metro awarded a contract for barriers to be put up on both sides of the bridge and for maintenance.
The Wylde Bridge over the Swartkops River connects Amsterdamhoek and Swartkops. It was opened in September 1879 and is Gqeberha's oldest bridge.
It was initially refurbished in 2016 and painted in bright colours, each representing a burning issue, such as HIV/Aids, environmental awareness and saving water. As a result it became known in Gqeberha as the 'Smartie Bridge'.
However, during the refurbishment, the crossbars that imposed a height restriction for vehicles — as the bridge has a 5-tonne weight restriction and cannot be used by big trucks — were removed and never replaced.
Without the barriers, trucks started using the bridge again and damaging it, while the balustrades were damaged by accidents and vandalism.
After an intensive campaign by the community and local councillor Annette Lovemore, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality awarded a R2.3-million contract to repair the bridge and install new restrictive barriers.
However, work on the bridge has come to a standstill because a 'local business forum' has, according to residents in the area, demanded protection fees of 10% and that 30% of the work be awarded to them.
Lovemore said she had written to Nelson Mandela Bay's acting city manager, Ted Pillay, to address the situation, but had not received a response.
'I understand that the critical work on the Wylde Bridge has repeatedly been delayed by SMMEs demanding protection money totalling apparently 10% of the contract value,' Lovemore wrote in an email to Pillay.
'This is extortion, which is a common-law crime in South Africa. I hope we have laid charges against the responsible SMMEs in respect of this extortion.
'We simply cannot tolerate the construction mafia dictating their terms and halting crucial infrastructural work. In this case, the bridge in question has a 5-ton weight limit. The contract awarded by the municipality will allow restrictive barriers to be erected to prevent large, heavy vehicles from using the bridge and potentially impacting upon its structural integrity.
'This is not a nice-to-have. It is about saving lives which might be lost if the bridge collapses under the repeated strain of heavy vehicles crossing.'
Yolisa Pali, the Mayoral Committee Member for roads and transport, told Lovemore that she had asked officials to attend to the situation.
The municipality's communications director, Sithembiso Soyaya, said he was still awaiting answers from officials. DM
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
5 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Corruption and collapse: How Services Seta blew R163-million and broke SA's skills promise
From fake companies winning multimillion-rand contracts to whistleblower warnings ignored, this exposé reveals how corruption flourished unchecked at South Africa's Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas). As pressure mounts for reform, the question remains: will new leadership break the cycle of corruption? Long before axed higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane took office, the Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) was already under a cloud of corruption and governance failures. Tasked with managing training levies and skills development in the services sector, the Services Seta has been dogged since 2018 by allegations of tender irregularities and financial mismanagement, exposed through investigations by watchdog group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa). How the Services Seta missed every red flag At the heart of the Services Seta scandal lies a R163-million contract for biometric units meant to track learner attendance and manage stipend payments. Shockingly, the tender ran for just four days — far short of the Treasury's 21-day requirement — and bids were evaluated a week before the closing date. The contract went to Grayson Reed — a shell company with no track record, no South African Revenue Service (SARS) declarations, and no real capacity to deliver. Investigators later revealed that the name itself was bogus. Despite glaring red flags, the Seta's bid committees waved the deal through. Outa says this blunder cost taxpayers more than R163-million. Outa's investigation also uncovered serious financial irregularities in the execution of the contract. Grayson Reed submitted travel and accommodation claims exceeding R2.1-million, many lacking proper supporting documents. Some invoices were allegedly fraudulent, while others billed for expenses incurred by unrelated parties. Suspiciously high fuel and Uber claims suggested daily double-charging, with duplicated invoices slipping through. Despite the red flags, senior Services Seta officials — including Project Accounting head Mpho Teffo and CFO Tsheola Matsebe — authorised the payments, raising alarm bells over the Seta's internal controls. The contract's pricing was equally alarming — items like exam pads and USB sticks were inflated by up to 8,000%. Learners reported delayed stipends, faulty biometric devices, and underpayments. Strangely, records showed Grayson Reed paid its supplier more than it charged the Seta — raising red flags around possible kickbacks or financial mismanagement. Despite Outa's repeated calls for cancellation and investigation, the Services Seta only terminated the contract six months early, in 2019, with no funds recovered and no criminal charges laid. More contracts and more questions The Grayson Reed saga was not a one-off. In June 2023, Outa uncovered yet another case of suspect spending at the Services Seta — a R36-million contract handed to Five Star Communications and Projects for branding materials. A branded tender box costing R302,000 — marked up by over 8,000% — was among 29 inflated invoices paid to Five Star without question, all approved by then-CEO Andile Nongogo and branding head Duduzile Mwelase. Outa has since laid criminal charges with SAPS against the pair and two Five Star directors, citing fraud, corruption and breaches of the Public Finance Management Act. The Werksmans report: confirming the suspicions Under intense pressure from Outa and Parliament, the Services Seta commissioned Werksmans Attorneys in early 2023 to investigate procurement irregularities across multiple contracts. Werksmans' findings confirmed whistleblowers' worst fears — exposing deep rot in the Services Seta's procurement processes. Contracts were pushed through in as little as five days, with payments made before verifying delivery. In one shocking case, a contract ballooned from R6.6-million to R89-million with no valid explanation. Even committee setups were flawed — some decisions appeared to rest on just one improperly appointed member. Adding to the turmoil, the Auditor-General issued a qualified opinion on the 2023/24 financials, citing poor record-keeping, material misstatements and glaring control failures. Irregular expenditure topped R193-million for the year — pushing the total to a staggering R1.26-billion. Impunity persists Daily Maverick spoke to Wayne Duvenage, the CEO of Outa, who said that while Outa had exposed multiple irregularities, particularly concerning tender manipulation and contract awards, in many cases the incumbents had remained in their positions. 'We try to get the boards to recognise misconduct or maladministration. If they don't act, it becomes very difficult for us to effect any meaningful change,' he said. The 2023/24 annual report shows that disciplinary cases over irregular spending remain unresolved. Daily Maverick contacted the Services Seta for comment on 9 July, but the organisation did not respond to queries on the status of these cases. In hearings in October 2024, committee members condemned the Services Seta's leadership for ignoring the Werksmans report and failing to hold anyone accountable, warning that this impunity eroded public trust and fuelled corruption. Outa laid criminal complaints against Nongogo with SAPS in June 2023 over corrupt practices involving overpriced contracts awarded by the Services Seta. Nongogo was implicated alongside other officials for approving exorbitant payments and fraudulent activities. Nongogo was later appointed as NSFAS CEO in 2024. Do Seta boards dodge the old playbook? On the issue of Seta board appointments, Duvenage said that the former minister should have come up with a different approach. 'The chairperson and board members are in powerful positions, and they must be strong people appointed to exercise effective oversight. The minister knows, and we've told her, that these Setas have corrupt networks that infiltrate and use executive positions to control tender flows,' he said. 'We need skilled, credible board members with the moral courage to stand up to corruption,' said Duvenage. 'The public are not fools — we won't just accept anyone in these positions.' In June, Nkabane told Parliament that her selection of 21 Seta chairpersons was guided by an advisory panel including advocate Terry Motau SC and several senior officials. But that claim is now unravelling — Motau says he was never formally involved, and others named have also denied participating in the final decisions. Their denials cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the minister's version of events. The way forward Reflecting on South Africa's investment in skills development, estimated at R21-billion annually, Duvenage said the returns had been inadequate. He reiterated that a systemic overhaul was urgently needed. 'There must be a summit, bringing together government, business, service providers, evaluators, civil society and citizens to map out a new way forward,' he said. Duvenage called for an industry-led approach, with businesses identifying skills needs instead of the government dictating priorities. He warned that credible business leaders were stepping back due to political interference, saying: 'The system has collapsed. It's not working.' South Africa's Setas stand at a crossroads, their promise of skills development overshadowed by corruption and mismanagement. Without urgent reform and accountability, public trust will continue to erode, and the country's workforce will ultimately bear the consequences. DM
The Citizen
5 hours ago
- The Citizen
Hercules cable theft suspects arrested after alert resident tips off police
An armed robbery at a storage site west of Pretoria has led to arrests, after community vigilance and a rapid response from both police and private security helped intercept stolen goods. Three suspects are in police custody after stealing about R1.5-million worth of cables from a municipal storage depot in Hercules. The robbery took place on July 28, when four armed men stormed the depot and held the four on-duty security officers at gunpoint. The security officers were tied up, their mobile phones confiscated, and they were taken to the back of the building, where two of the suspects guarded them. 'The remaining two suspects moved to the front of the building and were later joined by additional accomplices. Two trucks arrived on the scene and began loading electrical cables, with an estimated value of R1.5-million,' said SAPS spokesperson, Captain Johan van Dyk. Van Dyk said thanks to a vigilant community member, who saw the suspicious activity and immediately alerted the Hercules SAPS, two patrol vehicles, along with private security guards, responded swiftly and began searching for the trucks. One of the trucks, accompanied by a silver BMW, was located in Bremer Street. As SAPS officers intercepted the vehicles, the suspects tried to flee on foot. A chase ensued, resulting in the successful arrest of three suspects. After finding and searching the truck, police recovered a large quantity of electrical and copper cables, as well as three pairs of gloves. A search of the BMW yielded seven Mandrax tablets and false number plates. The arrested suspects have been charged with business robbery and possession of suspected stolen property. An investigation is continuing to identify and trace other suspects. Ward 1 councillor Leon Kruyshaar believes the suspects fled into a nearby informal settlement when intercepted by the police, and that the perpetrators are members of a larger syndicate responsible for cable theft in the area. 'As you know, cable theft is quite a continuous issue in our area. They have been stealing cables for the longest time, and not only have they been stealing from our ports, but they've also been stealing the cables underground,' said Kruyshaar. 'There are trenches they dig in the middle of the night and steal them [cables]. Overhead cables as well, the theft of municipal infrastructure is just out of hand in our area, and an arrest like this is exactly what we need. 'The criminals need to know that we are not just going to sit back; eventually, they'll be caught. It takes time, it takes a lot of investigations and so forth, but they are curbing this. 'Probably not at the rate that we want, because the price of copper is currently at R170 a kilogram, so the theft will continue, but we'll do everything we can to stop this.' Kruyshaar expressed his gratitude for the authorities' efforts, as he said that cable theft is an issue that won't stop in his ward. Residents with any information regarding the fourth suspect or anyone else involved with the crime are asked to contact their local authorities. SAPS urges the public to remain alert and to report any suspicious activity or information that may assist ongoing investigations. Tip-offs can be reported anonymously via Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or through the MySAPS App. Watch: Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.
eNCA
7 hours ago
- eNCA
Drug bust at OR Tambo International Airport
JOHANNESBURG - A 25-year-old woman has been arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport. She was carrying 1kg of cocaine worth R4.2-million in her luggage. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said she flew to South Africa from Brazil via Doha.
