Nelson Mandela Bay mayor: ‘My own comrades are plotting my demise’

The controversial leasing of a R25-million transformer has exposed deep fractures within the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay, with senior provincial leaders warning that the divisions could affect services — a scenario they cannot afford in a local government election year.

The rifts also threaten the party’s touted unity ahead of its upcoming provincial elective conference.

On Tuesday (3 March), Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Oscar Mabuyane said ANC members should be prioritising serving the people instead of indulging in internal squabbles, while provincial spokesperson Yanga Zicina warned that the party “cannot afford to have such an environment leading up to elections”.

The divisions are laid bare in a letter sent on 25 February to ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi from NMB mayor and regional chairperson Babalwa Lobishe, who said while opposition councillors were silent on her conduct, her own comrades were “plotting my demise”.

Lobishe also sent the 40-page letter to Mabuyane and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

In the letter, Lobishe said that factions in the region that emanated from a November 2025 conference compromised the unity of the party, as internal talks relating to the transformer issue resulted in some within the ANC calling for her to take special leave until the matter was resolved.

She expressly indicated that the ANC Eastern Cape provincial executive committee (PEC) had been silent while she was “attacked by the media” over a collective decision made to lease the transformer.

Lobishe awaits the resolutions of the party’s provincial integrity commission after she was summoned in February to answer to allegations related to the alleged illegal leasing of the transformer, and allegations pertaining to monies deposited into her Capitec Bank account, which has now been paused or frozen.

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On Tuesday, Mabuyane confirmed receipt of the letter and said that PEC officials would grant Lobishe an audience to understand the issues raised.

‘Addressing concerns’

Mabuyane said there was nothing more they wanted from their members in Nelson Mandela Bay than stability and a focus on development.

“We want ANC members to prioritise serving people, not squabbles. Our preoccupation in that region is to fight crime and create a conducive environment for the implementation of catalytic projects. We therefore condemn the alleged bickering and ill-informed divisions in Nelson Mandela Bay.”

On the long-anticipated integrity commission report that will decide Lobishe’s fate, Mabuyane said, “This is an internal organisational process. When the report is done, it will be processed through [the] appropriate structures of the ANC.

“We are not taking long, as there is a time frame attached. We are waiting for the commission to conclude its work.

“The information we have is that she acted in her capacity as mayor to save jobs, hence that is a council decision. So you must also wait for the report; you will also get it when it’s ready.”

Transformer lease

Lobishe is accused of approving, without a council resolution, the leasing of the transformer to private company Coega Steels for R250,000 a month.

Municipalities are required to conduct public participation meetings for assets worth more than R10-million before such decisions are made.

Former Good party regional chairperson Siyanda Mayana registered the matter for investigation with the Hawks in January.

The city has referred the matter to the courts for judicial review.

Addressing Ngcukaitobi, Lobishe said in the letter that she was concerned about the “gross ill-discipline” displayed in the public domain by some regional executive committee (REC) members.

“Even more concerning for me is that the absence of an official message by ANC PEC officials on this matter of the transformer allows us to be bullied by the media on non-factual matters.”

Lobishe named four ANC members and a reporter from a local newspaper: “[A reporter] writes to me asking about discussions which were conducted in the regional working committee meeting which were utterances of councillor Sicelo Mleve, speaker Eugene (Johnson), chief whip Wandisile Jikeka and councillor Nonhina Maswana, who were all saying that I must take leave until the matter of the transformer is resolved.”

Factional battle

The councillors were part of a faction that opposed Lobishe in a contest for the regional chair position, strongly backing her political rival, Luyolo Nqakula.

Lobishe said the members mentioned were aware of the facts of the transformer lease to Coega Steels and its benefit to workers and the municipality.

“These facts were deliberated in council in their presence as illustrated by the attached resolution. Not … once has comrade Jikeka, as the chief whip, called me to account or sought clarity. Even in the [working committee] meeting, he was not presenting what [are] known facts. He was merely relying on gossip,” she wrote.

“These comrades are deliberate in undermining an elected chairperson. They are bent on creating chaos. I wonder, [can] the ANC afford this intended instability in the year of elections?

“For how long must I be ridiculed for saving our economy through this item by ANC comrades who are still stuck in the conference contestation mode?”

Lobishe said an REC meeting convened last week did not finish because of disruptive councillors and two party members.

“There is no resolution of the regional working committee for me to take leave. This transformer attack is orchestrated by ANC comrades through … Siyanda Mayana.”

She added, “The opposition is quiet, and ANC REC members are the ones who are plotting for my demise.”

“As PEC officials, you are quiet when it was you who brought [former acting city manager] Ted Pillay [to come and work for the metro].

Pillay no longer works for the municipality. Councillor Lawrence Troon, of the Good party, has opened a criminal complaint against Pillay in connection with the transformer lease.

“He is the one who came with the item and who signed the letter to Treasury and Coega Steels before asking me to sign a document that he and the then acting executive director for electricity had signed,” said Lobishe.

She said she was being punished for taking advice from Pillay, of whom the PEC, when it brought him to the city, had said was an incorruptible and seasoned administrator.

“Now, when I take advice from him for the benefit of the people, I am deemed corrupt by my own ANC comrades. PEC officials sent me to the integrity committee without calling me and Pillay to verify the facts.”

ANC provincial spokesperson Yanga Zicina confirmed that Lobishe’s letter was receiving attention from the party structures, starting with the PEC, which had to first gather facts around the matters raised.

“The party is concerned about the nature of allegations raised by comrade Lobishe; hence, it will be investigating them with the intention to mitigate and put systems in place to combat divisions.”

Unity sought as elections loom

Zicina said the ANC could not afford to have such a divisive environment in the lead-up to elections. He said that the ANC had to offer the best service to South Africa. Its unity was of extreme importance, and anything that threatened it was taken seriously.

“The ANC is committed to good governance practices and clean administration, so it takes this matter very seriously. Comrade Lobishe indeed appeared before the integrity commission, but there is no verdict yet.

“We are yet to receive a recommendation from the provincial integrity commission, upon which the next steps will be followed by our structures.”

⁠Zicina said the commission needed to satisfy itself about the processes and conduct thorough investigations before it released its recommendations to the PEC. DM