After a year at the helm of the Nelson Mandela Bay energy and electricity directorate, Tholi Biyela has submitted his resignation after a tumultuous month. (Photo: Supplied / Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality) 
Nearly a year after submitting a detailed turnaround strategy for the Nelson Mandela Bay electricity and energy directorate, acting executive director Tholi Biyela will vacate his position at the head of the ailing department at the end of the month.
Paging through the detailed document, certain sections read like a blueprint of recent events that preceded Biyela’s untimely resignation.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Buxton-Ave-powerline.jpg "Municipal teams were deployed to repair a crucial power line running through Gqeberha’s Buxton Avenue power kiosk after the line was damaged on Sunday, 24 August 2025, leaving thousands of Gqeberha residents without electricity. The matter was under investigation to establish whether the incident was caused by cable theft or sabotage, amid labour disputes in the city’s electricity and energy department. (Photo: Riaan Marais)")
These sections are contained under headings such as “Corruption and Lack of Accountability”, “Ineffective Oversight and Lack of Consequence Management” and “Inconsistent Application of Policies and Procedures.”
Despite being forcibly removed from the directorate’s headquarters, Munelek, interference from city management in disciplinary actions against certain people, death threats against Biyela and clear attempts to sabotage critical infrastructure around the city, the incumbent head of the department and the municipality maintain that their split is amicable and not influenced by recent events.
‘Factions and sabotage’
Meanwhile, sources inside the directorate claim that factions within electricity and energy have been calling for Biyela’s head since he stepped into his current role and that the recent string of incidents was part of their campaign against him coming to fruition.
However, Biyela refused to be drawn into making such statements. “It pains me to leave Nelson Mandela Bay before seeing our turnaround strategy fully implemented. Unfortunately, a better opportunity that I simply could not refuse came up elsewhere.”
He also declined to comment on where his next move would take him.
Before working in Nelson Mandela Bay, Biyela held several senior positions in the energy sector.
From Sikhalasenkosi Township in Richards Bay, the 33-year-old graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cape Town. He also holds a Government Certificate of Competency and Professional Engineering registration.
Biyela worked his way up the ranks at Eskom to where he held the position of acting sector manager, overseeing operations and maintenance over parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape.
In 2022, he took the position of senior manager of electrical and mechanical services at the Knysna Municipality, and in April 2024 he was appointed as deputy director of high-voltage maintenance in Nelson Mandela Bay.
In October 2024 he was appointed acting executive director of the electricity and energy directorate.
Within a month, he was instrumental in compiling a turnaround strategy for the directorate, which listed several challenges and shortcomings, and possible solutions.
‘Political interference and corruption’
Besides highlighting challenges of poor infrastructure maintenance, budgetary constraints and low revenue collection, a key focus of the document was on corruption, political interference and internal conflict within the directorate.
Read more: Security heightened at Nelson Mandela Bay electricity substation after attempted sabotage
The report read: “One of the critical issues that must be addressed is political interference in operational decisions. A clear separation between political oversight and administrative management is necessary to prevent undue influence over technical decisions [...]
“Corrupt activities by some employees have eroded public trust and weakened internal controls, with limited consequences for those involved. The absence of strict enforcement measures allows corrupt practices to continue unchallenged. Failure to impose serious consequence management for misconduct or mismanagement has created a culture of impunity, weakening governance structures and enabling corrupt practices to flourish [...]
“Political bias and nepotism in employment and promotions have undermined merit-based appointments and governance. This results in unqualified individuals being placed in critical roles, further weakening governance structures and creating an enabling environment for mismanagement and corruption [...]
“Inconsistent enforcement of policies such as procurement regulations, financial management practices and disciplinary procedures has weakened sound governance. A lack of standardised processes across different units within the Directorate has led to arbitrary decision-making and favouritisms, damaging institutional integrity [...]”
Sources inside Munelek said factions within the directorate began complaining about Biyela within days of the turnaround strategy being submitted.
In June, reports began circulating that Biyela was threatening employees within his directorate, while he had received death threats from unknown people.
Forcibly removed
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Chatty-substation-sabotage-1.jpg "Security was increased at Nelson Mandela Bay's Chatty substation on Tuesday, 26 August 2025, after reports of attempted sabotage at the crucial electricity facility. (Photo: Supplied / Facebook)")
The situation came to a head last month when he was forcibly removed from his office, 13 employees were served with letters of “intention to suspend”, municipal workers’ union Samwu threatened to down tools, and several incidents occurred that are under investigation as possible attempts to sabotage the city’s power infrastructure.
Read more: Cable thieves or sabotage — Gqeberha left in the dark again
The suspension letters issued by Biyela were ultimately withdrawn by city manager Ted Pillay. These incidents read like a self-fulfilling prophecy next to the challenges listed in Biyela’s turnaround strategy.
However, after his resignation at the end of August, the municipality issued a statement declaring that none of these incidents had anything to do with Biyela’s departure.
“It is important to note that Mr Biyela was never ‘pushed out’ of his position,” a statement by municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said.
“Throughout his tenure as acting executive director, Mr Biyela received full delegation of authority and support to perform his duties from the Municipality.”
Referring to Biyela’s forcible removal from his office, Soyaya called it an “unfortunate incident”.
“Appropriate action was taken, including engagements with organised labour on issues where we needed to find each other as stakeholders.”
Soyaya said Biyela’s decision to resign was based on pursuing new career opportunities.
“[It] is unrelated to any operational challenges or past events within the electricity department. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect and unfounded.”
Soyaya said a decision on who would take the reins at the directorate from October would be made in due course. DM