WATCH | Mayor under threat at chaotic meeting

Minutes after a group of Walmer Township residents clad in ANC T-shirts vowed they would not let a Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality public meeting proceed, one resident nearly came to blows with mayor Athol Trollip.

The meeting at the Walmer Multi Purpose Centre descended into complete chaos last night when Trollip along with some municipal officials tried to push ahead with the programme.

One resident – a man in a pink T-shirt who is alleged to be an ANC branch chairman – went straight for Trollip after a short stand-off between the residents and the group representing the municipality.

The meeting is one in a series intended for the city to outline the draft Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and also present the draft budget for the 2018-19 financial year.

At least four meetings were disrupted last week and on occasion took a violent turn when cars belonging to councillors were stoned.

The drama last night unfolded when a group in ANC T-shirts started picking up chairs and tossing over tables while singing offensive songs.

The group had earlier vowed they would not allow the meeting to take place.

After the scuffle broke out, the metro police and Trollip’s bodyguard intervened.

Tensions ran high, with the group trying desperately to get their hands on Trollip.

They were met with fierce resistance from the metro police and bodyguards.

The man, whom The Herald unsuccessfully tried to identify, had earlier told residents the meeting would not take place. He said this meant no disrespect to them.

“This is not about you. What we are saying is we will never accept the white man.”

Later, a standoff ensued with Trollip trying to talk to the group, who were not having any of it and instead singing offensive songs loosely translated as “F*** off Trollip, you are full of s***.”

The man also tried to force the team from The Herald along with municipal officials to leave the venue.

The group cheered when Trollip stood down and decided to leave.

But the intimidation continued until he left the hall and got into his car.

Trollip said he would be writing to national ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe and President Cyril Ramaphosa to inform them of the disruptions in the metro.

“This has clearly been orchestrated – this is not happening in a vacuum,” he said.

It was clear the disruptions were orchestrated as they only happened in ANC-run wards.

“I am typing up the letter right now. The president and the ANC chairman can’t just sit there in their ivory towers – they must take action.

“Not one ANC leader has condemned these actions.”

Trollip said they would continue with the rest of the meetings as planned and would consider changing the venues for some of them.

The municipality yesterday published a revised schedule on its online platforms after the violence and disruption of the four meetings.

Meanwhile, contrary to expectations – evidenced by a substantial police and metro security presence – the completely incident-free public meeting held in Helenvale earlier yesterday was hailed as one of the best ever public engagements in that area.

Staged in the Helenvale Resource Centre where about 300 community members received feedback on a lengthy list of projects and developments to be included in the Bay municipality’s budget for implementation, the cordial and orderly gathering drew significant praise from council speaker Jonathan Lawack.

Mayoral committee members Marlon Daniels, who holds the roads and transport portfolio, and councillor John Best, who oversees the safety and security portfolio, were also present.

To repeated applause, Lawack announced a raft of initiatives that ranged from housing projects and addressing backyard dwellers to infrastructure and safety and security measures which would be accommodated on various budgets.

These included municipal budgets and those of organisations such as the Mandela Bay Development Agency.

Community members were particularly pleased when Daniels announced a taxi unit had been established to address crime on taxis and applauded a call by Best that the gang-embattled community demand the budget include funds for the area’s highly successful Shotspotter technology which guides police to where firearms are fired.

Community members were also given another opportunity to forward new proposals for budget allocations.

Besides many infrastructure-related requests, the gathering also came out in strong support for a medical clinic to be established in Helenvale.