How to Steal a City: The Battle for Nelson Mandela Bay, an Inside Account

by Crispian Olver

'In March 2015, I was tasked by Pravin Gordhan, the minister responsible for local government, to root out corruption in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in the Eastern Cape. Over the following eighteen months, I led the investigations and orchestrated the crackdown as the "hatchet man" for the metro's new Mayor, Danny Jordaan. This is my account of kickbacks, rigged contracts and a political party at war with itself.' How to Steal a City is the gripping insider account of this intervention, which lays bare how Nelson Mandela Bay metro was bled dry by criminal syndicates, and how factional politics within the ruling party abetted that corruption. As a former senior state official and local government 'fixer', Crispian Olver was no stranger to dodgy politicians and broken organisations. Yet what he found in Nelson Mandela Bay went far beyond rigged contracts, blatant conflicts of interest and garden-variety kickbacks. The city's administration had evolved into a sophisticated web of front companies, criminal syndicates and compromised local politicians and officials. The metro was effectively controlled by a criminal network closely allied to a dominant local ANC faction. What Olver found was complete state capture – a microcosm of what has taken place in national government. Olver and his team initiated a clean-up of the administration, clearing out corrupt officials and rebuilding public trust. Then came the ANC's doomed campaign for the August 2016 local government elections. Having lost its way in factional battles and corruption, the divided party went down to a humiliating defeat in its traditional heartland. Olver paid a high price for his work in Nelson Mandela Bay. Intense political pressure and even threats to his personal safety took a toll on his mental and physical health. When his political support was withdrawn, he had to flee the city as the forces stacked against him took their revenge. This is his story.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 23, 2017

Reviews

[Martin Pienaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chippy’s book is really well written and I found the insights into metro politics fascinating, and scary

[David Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book much more than I thought I would. I also found it deeply disturbing. I have also admired the author for quite a few years - courageous is not a strong enough word for what he has written. The deep rot within the ANC that was exposed in Port Elizabeth is but a sample of what can be found elsewhere in the country. There are still good people in the ANC, there just aren't enough of them in the right places. While I agree the Cyril is a breath of fresh air, I don't believe (and may I be wrong) that there are enough people like Cyril to clean up the mess should he become president of the republic - he is in a bit of a Buhari situation - good intentions, but not enough support. It's not all bad news - Chippy and his team did make a difference, and so will others.

Like Mexico's PRI - a spell in the political wilderness could help the ANC, and South Africa.

[Will Dorrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revealing account from inside a corruption clean-up operation in one of South Africa's major cities. Written by a key advisor of the mayor.

Frequently the level of detail went over my head, unsurprising given my lack of knowledge about the workings of the ANC and the politics of South Africa more broadly.

But despite that, many of the chapters were pretty exciting, and gave a shocking view onto the corruption that had overtaken the city (and was being replicated on the national scale). What is perhaps most surprising is how easy it is for the protagonist, a seemingly principled person, to get caught up with some of the shadier sides of politics. There really is no clear line to draw between 'clean' and 'dirty' funding of political campaigns. Either way people willing to make large political donations have power.

[Gillian Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quote “Sometimes extracting the party’s tentacles from state institutions is too hard, without the abrupt weaning imposed by electoral defeat “

Yes, sometimes you’ve got to lose it to use it. ANC, Nelson Mandela Bay 2016

This compelling insider view to the shenanigans and proposed clean up of NMB is a fascinating insight in its scope, honesty and the introspection of the author. The 2016 election details, Danny Jordaan as the unsuccessful ANC solution, his lack of leadership on losing, and the extent of the rot in the NMB municipality make for disquieting reading.

Crispian Olver, other than this book, I know nothing about you, but I have the feeling that your country still needs you. 🇿🇦

[Harald Winkler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read - found especially the first couple of chapters gripping, far beyond one might expect of a book set around local government politics. Not knowing PE, the detail got a bit too much for me. Very much written as a personal account, almost chronology. Excellent insight into SA politics

[Seeta Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So easy to read and yet so detailed. Strangely cathartic given my difficult experiences working with local government in Kenya - and realizing it's how it is! Just find ways to keep working with them!

[Vinayak Bhardwaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent chronicle of the rot that has set in within SA's politics. There are no signs, four years after the book was written, of any of its lessons being adopted on a scale that might be worth taking seriously.

A wholesale political revolution in SA is urgently needed.

[Jaco Barnard-Naudé · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for everyone, because everyone needs to know what South Africa is facing as a result of now deeply entrenched corruption and state capture across all levels of government.

[Milton Kekana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocked but no surprised

A straight and forward book that is easy for o read & difficult to put down. What honest reflection even on himself as the author

[Wouter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geweldig boek over de subtiele tactieken van corruptie, politiek en machtsstrijd in Zuid Afrika

[Anthea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and chilling account of plunder. This book shifts the focus from the current national expose of state capture to how it was done at a city-level. It exposes in alarming detail how syndicates infiltrate municipal systems and brazenly siphon off resources dedicated for service delivery towards personal, and party, enrichment. In doing so, Olver shines a light - in the process exposing his own fallibility - on the compromising role of party funding in the bigger story of state capture.

[Yoni Bass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does Olver sufficiently grapple with his own role of maintaining the corrupt networks in PE? I’m not convinced he does. He comes close at points, particularly reflecting on his fundraising for the ANC in the city but in the end he chooses to show his efforts as a failed attempt to reform the city from within the state and ANC and does not really question whether his experience was stillborn from the start because it emanated from within the self same corrupt system itself.

That being said, it is an important explanation of how capture / corruption works at a local government level and who the key role players were.

Depressingly most of these role players are either still active, have gained more power subsequent to the book, or are slowly meandering their way through the justice system.