By Johnathan Paoli
The DA has vowed to quadruple Nelson Mandela Bay’s Metro Police department to more than 500 officers within five years if elected to run the metro after the 2026 local government elections, saying the current law enforcement capacity has collapsed.
Speaking in KwaNobuhle in Kariega on Thursday, DA Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal announced what the party described as “game-changing plans” to overhaul the city’s Metro Police Department.
“Nelson Mandela Bay’s Metro Police has become a law enforcement agency in name only, as it struggles on with only 126 officers and four operational vehicles to serve 60 wards. After the 2026 Local Government Elections on 4 November, with a DA-led government elected in Nelson Mandela Bay, in just 12 months we will be able to double the number of metro police officers and increase the fleet capacity to get these officers onto the streets,” Odendaal said.
“By the end of our five-year term, we will expand to over 500 officers and more than 60 vehicles across the City to provide 24/7 coverage for every ward,” he added.
According to the DA, the metro currently deploys just 18 officers per 12-hour shift across the metro, effectively leaving fewer than one officer for every three wards during a shift.
The DA further claimed that only four of the department’s 22 vehicles are currently operational, while the remaining 18 are awaiting repairs, tyres or spare parts.
Odendaal said the expanded police force would enable the establishment of specialised units, including anti-protest, anti-vandalism and taxi enforcement teams, as well as a dedicated unit aimed at tackling derelict and problematic buildings.
“This will ensure a more professional Metro Police with hard-working officers that can keep communities safe,” he said.
The DA said its strategy would rely heavily on upskilling existing municipal security personnel.
In 2018, the metro insourced 682 security guards into the Safety and Security Directorate, and the party believes many could be trained and converted into fully fledged metro police officers.
Odendaal argued that the plan would require only minimal budget adjustments because entry-level metro police salaries are relatively comparable to those of municipal security officers.
“The city has the money to train and employ officers and to buy more vehicles, but this incompetent government does not know how to spend it,” he said.
He accused the ANC/EFF coalition government in Nelson Mandela Bay of repeatedly underspending on the Safety and Security Directorate while simultaneously cutting budgets for the department.
The DA said the expansion of Metro Police would form part of a broader anti-crime strategy for the metro.
Among the additional interventions proposed by the party are the installation of a citywide CCTV camera network to detect and deter criminal activity, the re-establishment of a joint CCTV operations centre involving the metro police, SAPS and private security companies, and the implementation of “ShotSpotter” gun-detection technology.
The party also pledged to strengthen partnerships with neighbourhood watches and provide additional support and equipment to community safety structures working alongside police.
Odendaal said residents had been abandoned by what he termed an “ANC/EFF-led coalition of chaos”.
“The DA will not allow communities to be left at the mercy of criminals while corruption and political failure weaken the institution meant to keep residents safe,” he said.
He added that the DA intended to build a metro police capable of supporting law enforcement agencies to “catch criminals, convict them and clean up our city”.
The announcement comes as political parties begin ramping up campaigning ahead of the local government elections scheduled for 4 November.
Odendaal was joined at the launch by DA Eastern Cape leader Andrew Whitfield, Winterhoek constituency leader Horatio Hendricks, provincial spokesperson Georgina Faldtman and metro safety and security spokesperson Jason Grobbelaar.
Nelson Mandela Bay, which includes Gqeberha, Kariega and Despatch, has experienced years of political instability, coalition disputes and service delivery challenges, with crime and public safety remaining among the key issues facing residents ahead of the upcoming municipal polls.
