The DA’s Retief Odendaal will be in the running for the mayoral chain in Nelson Mandela Bay’s local elections in 2026.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced former Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) mayor Retief Odendaal as the party’s mayoral candidate in the 2026 local government elections.
According to Eastern Cape provincial leader, Andrew Whitfield, the announcement in effect “declares our unequivocal intention to challenge for the governance of Nelson Mandela Bay in next year’s election”.
According to Whitfield, the DA’s coalition partners started to turn the metro around during Odendaal’s tenure as mayor between September 2022 and May 2023.
Retief Odendaal’s previous tenure as Bay metro mayor
“Under his leadership, we improved service delivery and cracked down on corruption. Nelson Mandela Bay also achieved its first unqualified audit in 12 years, under Odendaal.
“All this hard work was undone when the ANC, with the assistance of smaller proxy parties, such as the PA [Patriotic Alliance] and NA [Northern Alliance], returned to govern the metro in 2023,” Whitfield said.
‘Like the back of his hand’ – DA’s Retief Odendaal
He noted that Odendaal, who is a qualified attorney, currently serves as the DA’s Shadow MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in the Eastern Cape legislature.
“Retief knows the administration of the metro like the back of his hand, and has a critical understanding of the problems facing Nelson Mandela Bay.”
ALSO READ: Tensions boil in Nelson Mandela Bay metro ahead of council meeting
Internal process
Whitfield said the decision was the culmination of a competitive, thorough and exhaustive DA internal process of applications and interviews to select the best person for the job.
“The DA charges Retief Odendaal to lead a campaign that connects with the hearts of every person in Nelson Mandela Bay, that reaches every community, and tackles the serious issues facing this metro,” he added.
Nelson Mandela Bay Metro: Years of extensive issues and challenges
Since 2001, the municipality has been led by various mayors, including Eugene Johnson, Odendaal and Gary van Niekerk. The current executive mayor is the ANC’s Babalwa Lobishe.
In March this year, Lobishe unsuccessfully tried to get the council to write off R3.2 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
Nelson Mandela Bay has the highest amount of fruitless and wasteful expenditure in South Africa, which recently increased by R2 billion to stand at R24 billion.
READ NOW: Infighting in Nelson Mandela Bay metro detracts from delivery
