GQEBERHA – Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has placed crime and public safety at the centre of the party’s Nelson Mandela Bay campaign, with plans to expand the metro police force and spend R100 million on the revitalisation of St George’s Park.

Hill-Lewis was speaking at the DA’s Working For All Tour event in Gqeberha on Monday, 21 September ahead of the November local government elections.

He said municipalities had an important role to play in creating safer communities, despite not being responsible for the South African Police Service (SAPS).

“I know from my own job as a mayor that local government is not abstract,” Hill-Lewis said, pointing to services such as working streetlights, maintained parks and refuse collection.

“The crime problem in Nelson Mandela Bay is not theoretical,” he said.

Hill-Lewis referred to murder figures for January to March, when KwaZakhele recorded 59 murders, the highest number at a police precinct nationally during that quarter.

DA highlights crime and public safety concerns

The figures formed part of the fourth-quarter crime statistics for the 2025/26 financial year, released by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia on 22May.

SAPS figures show New Brighton recorded 45 murders during the same period, followed by Motherwell with 44, Walmer with 36 and KwaNobuhle with 35.

The five Nelson Mandela Bay precincts were among the 13 police stations with the highest number of murders nationally during that quarter.

The latest national crime statistics, covering April to June, were released on 28 August. Hill-Lewis’s figures therefore relate to the previous quarter.

He criticised the national government’s response to gang-related crime and referred to Cachalia’s visit to Nelson Mandela Bay in January.

“Residents deserve to know: where is the plan, where are the resources, and where are the results?” Hill-Lewis said.

He said DA Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal had called for specialised police units to be properly resourced, crime intelligence to be restored and a permanent Joint Operations Centre to be established.

“While a municipality cannot replace the SAPS, it is not powerless,” Hill-Lewis said.

DA proposes expanded metro police force

The DA’s proposals include expanding the metro police force to more than 500 officers, supported by more than 60 vehicles.

The party also plans to rebuild the city’s CCTV capability and establish a joint operations centre where Metro Police, SAPS and private security companies can share information and coordinate responses.

Hill-Lewis said technology such as gunshot detection could also be used where it could make a practical difference.

St George’s Park was another key focus of the party’s plans.
The DA has proposed spending R100 million on the park, including improved lighting, CCTV, emergency call points, security and a ranger service.

The proposal also includes repairs to pathways and sporting facilities, improvements to the swimming pool and work on facilities including the

Mannville Open Air Theatre and Pearson Conservatory.

Hill-Lewis said the plan was intended to make the park safer while encouraging residents to use it again.

R100m St George’s proposal

“The safest public space is often a public space that is loved and used,” he said.

He said the same approach should be applied to public spaces across the metro.

“You do not just chase crime out. You bring life back in,” Hill-Lewis said. The DA’s proposals form part of its campaign ahead of the 4 November elections, with Hill-Lewis saying the metro’s port, industry, university and tourism sector provided a foundation for future development.

He said the challenge was creating the conditions for those assets and communities to flourish.
“The job of government is to work through the complexity and produce results that ordinary people can see and feel,” he said.

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