The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s ambitious multi-billion rand Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) has collapsed into near-total dysfunction, with only six buses currently operational out of a fleet meant to serve hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Former Mayor Retief Odendaal has blamed systemic corruption, political instability, and chronic mismanagement for the failure of the project, which was initially launched ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Once transporting over a million passengers annually, the service has plummeted to just 104,000 passengers in the last financial year.
A System in Ruins
The IPTS, funded with over R4 billion in national government investment, was intended to provide reliable public transport for the metro. However, most of the buses purchased for the system now sit idle—some stranded at depots, others held at a dealership due to unpaid repair bills. Recent refurbishment efforts, costing R33 million in 2024 and an additional R21 million the year before, failed to address mechanical failures. Odendaal dismissed the refurbishment as superficial, saying it amounted to little more than “stickers and reupholstered seats.”
Political Instability and Mismanagement
Odendaal attributed the collapse to rampant political instability within the municipality, citing frequent leadership changes and administrative chaos. Since 2009, Nelson Mandela Bay has had 44 municipal managers, with the current manager suspended for 21 months while still earning R200,000 per month. Additionally, five of the nine top executive director positions have been vacant for two years.
“Political instability has derailed this project,” Odendaal said. “We’ve had coalition governments collapsing, mayors being ousted, and no accountability in administration.”
Financial Mismanagement
The municipality’s inability to spend allocated funds has worsened the crisis. In the 2023/24 financial year, only R29 million of a R185 million transport budget was used, forcing the forfeiture of R900 million in grant funding to National Treasury. Odendaal compared the failure to successful systems like Cape Town’s MyCiTi and George’s Go George, which transported millions of passengers in the same period.
What Next?
Odendaal called for urgent intervention, including expertise from national government, to salvage the project. He warned that without stability and skilled management, the system could face complete shutdown, with National Treasury potentially clawing back funds.
“The people of Nelson Mandela Bay deserve a reliable transport system,” he said. “But until we fix the political and administrative rot, this collapse will continue.”
As the metro grapples with the fallout, questions remain over whether the IPTS can be revived—or if it will stand as another costly monument to mismanagement.
