It takes a special kind of effort to put up a sign that points people in the wrong direction â but the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has managed it.

A new sign at the Pollock Beach parking lot is meant to guide visitors to Gqeberhaâs top spots, like Kingâs Beach, Bayworld and Cape Recife. Instead, it appears to have been planted in reverse, sending tourists marching in the exact opposite direction.

On the bright side, it helpfully notes that Schoenmakerskop is just a 225-minute walk away.

Anyone whoâs not familiar with navigating the city and follows the arrows will end up walking away from the attractions theyâre trying to find â or strolling into the sea.

On its own, itâs an amusing mistake. But it was erected on a beachfront battling serious safety concerns, vandalism, broken streetlights and years of municipal neglect.

DA MP Baxolile Nodada and his friend were violently attacked on the beachfront in June. Nodadaâs friend was stabbed six times.

Nodada escalated the safety issues to Parliament where he highlighted municipal failures, accusing authorities of gambling with residentsâ safety in a city grappling with non-functioning streetlights, cable theft and inadequate security patrols.

Ward 2 councillor Sean Tappan said he had asked the municipality to investigate the problem.

âI have not been to see the sign ... because I was attending to other business, but if the pole was drilled to the ground then itâs going to be difficult to correct it, but if not then it should be easy to fix. Whoever did it, if itâs not AI, is incompetent, and whoever approved it in the metro should be embarrassed.â

Tappan said the fact that the sign had been there for a few days was shameful and unacceptable.

âWe should start telling people to not follow the sign as it will lead them in the wrong direction. Itâs just ridiculous. But what Iâm [most] interested in is: how much did it cost?â

The member of the mayoral committee for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture, Bassie Kamana, said he would ensure that the sign was corrected.

âIt is such an unfortunate tourism blunder that makes us look like fools. I will follow up on the matter so it is fixed, and I will find out who is responsible for it so that consequence management is effected.â

Metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya did not respond to questions.

Local DJ Daron Mann was not particularly surprised by the error.

âI have to congratulate our municipality on erecting a sign that doubles as a perfect metaphor for its governance â confidently pointing everyone in the wrong direction.â

Social media users made a mockery of the situation. Former SuperSport presenter Derek Alberts posted on Facebook, âI initially assumed that this had been doctored by AI, because surely, even the utterly incompetent Nelson Mandela Bay municipality canât be this useless. But fear not, they are indeed capable of plumbing new depths of dysfunction. Oh, for clarity, that âsignageâ is all pointed in the wrong direction.â

Resident Andrew McLean said he was surprised that the metro did not have a sign indicating âthe pubs they like drinking Hennessy and Johnny Blue at on municipal credit cardsâ.

Another local, Mubeen Baboo, poked fun at the blunder, joking: âIn 400 meters turn right â but only if you can swim,â pointing out that the signâs arrows would send unsuspecting tourists walking straight into the ocean. DM