LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Gayton McKenzie promises debt write-offs, ‘Abahambe’ crackdown in Nelson Mandela Bay

Patriotic Alliance mayoral hopeful Bradley Murray, a former Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral committee member responsible for roads and transport, has sworn to write off municipal debt for households with properties worth R1-million or less, and promised a hardline crackdown on foreign-owned shops should his party take control of the metro.

Murray and PA leader and Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie launched his mayoral campaign at Gqeberha’s Feather Market Centre on Monday evening, boasting that the party had been able to draw a packed hall of supporters on a Monday night.

McKenzie said Murray was the best man to run City Hall because “he had the insight to see all the mistakes of the two mayors that came before him”.

“What is happening to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay is really an injustice. The people of Nelson Mandela Bay have given their ANC mayor a chance. They’ve given their DA mayor a chance. Still, their lives have not changed,” McKenzie said.

He added that they were “not asking for 30 years that you gave the ANC. We’re not asking for 20 years that you gave the DA. We’re asking for five years. Give the PA five years and you'll see change like you’ve never seen before.”

One of Murray’s biggest promises was to write off municipal debt for households whose properties were valued at R1-million or less.

He blamed the municipality’s billing system for what he described as widespread incorrect debt, saying the problem had persisted for about five years.

“We are saying, allow the system to correct it, but write off the debt of everybody that has a property worth R1-million and less,” he said. “We’re not talking about the rich people here. We’re talking about the average people that struggles.”

McKenzie said that “he must write off the debt of everybody. We must start on an absolutely clean slate.”

The proposal comes as the metro grapples with a mounting debt burden. Outstanding municipal debt stood at R23.42-billion at the end of April, with households accounting for R20.35-billion of the total.

Murray also put immigration and foreign-owned businesses at the centre of his campaign, invoking the PA’s “Abahambe” slogan.

“The foreign shops are going to suffer under a PA government,” he said. “We’re going to tackle that issue every single day. They’re going to feel us.”

He identified Durban Road in Korsten, Gqeberha, as “Ground Zero with Abahambe”. The road is known for having a host of foreign-owned shops.

In May 2024, Human Rights Watch named McKenzie among politicians scapegoating foreign nationals before that year’s general elections, citing a November 2023 speech in which he said foreign nationals must go home and blamed them for crime, drug peddling and unemployment. The organisation warned that such rhetoric risked sparking violence.

McKenzie said the PA would target businesses employing undocumented foreign nationals, with a new bylaw to enforce the crackdown.

“The one big marching order we have, any business that hires illegal foreigners, we must make sure there’s a bylaw that makes us deal with those type of businesses,” McKenzie said.

The PA candidate also placed the metro’s leadership instability at the centre of his campaign, saying that resolving the city manager impasse would be among his first priorities if elected.

City manager Noxolo Nqwazi has been on precautionary suspension for close to three years, with her suspension drawing criticism from all corners.

In May, the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs portfolio committee said Nqwazi’s suspension had continued since 2024 and had cost the municipality more than R6.7-million in salary alone.

More recently, her disciplinary hearing was shut down because key requirements had not been met, including the council’s determination of the misconduct’s seriousness and the appointment of the chairperson and evidence leader.

Murray said the municipality needed a permanent city manager to provide stability across its administration.

“We definitely need to fix it, but we need to start with the head, which is to say we must get a permanent city manager as soon as possible so we can get all the other spheres of departments, heads, put in place,” he said.

Murray also identified unemployment as one of the major problems a PA administration would have to tackle, alongside electricity, water and crime. McKenzie said his marching orders would also include tackling derelict sporting and other recreational infrastructure in the metro.

The PA was a member of the coalition in Nelson Mandela Bay, but walked away from it in November 2024 after Babalwa Lobishe and Gary van Niekerk swapped seats in October 2024.

Van Niekerk – leader of the National Alliance – was the leader of the coalition. The PA had two MMC positions in that iteration of the coalition. Under the ANC-led coalition, however, it has none.

Murray served as MMC for roads and transport and Shuling Lindoor served as MMC for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture. They also resigned from the council, to grow the party, he said.

The two were replaced by former MP Gavin Jonas and Alvera Hendricks.

“We were the first party in the history of Nelson Mandela Bay that gave back two MMC positions and exited on our own terms to focus on the growth of the PA,” he said.

With the election campaign now under way, he argued that voters should give the PA an opportunity to govern after having tried the ANC and DA.

“The ANC is the problem. The current leadership is a problem,” Murray said.

“The DA does not have solutions. They’ve been in that seat three times. They have had Athol Trollip, Nqaba Bhanga and Retief Odendaal. Nothing has changed for us as coloured people in our communities.”

Murray said the PA’s pitch was therefore: “We said, yes, we’ll try the ANC, yes, we’ll try the DA, but we never said we’ll try ourselves a little bit.

“Now is the time we are saying let’s try ourselves and let’s focus and prioritise our areas where it’s been neglected.” DM