Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe, with several senior leaders, including deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk and speaker Eugene Johnson, appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on 24 March 2026 in Cape Town. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament) Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs came close to taking legal action against Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe after months of unanswered letters, emails and phone calls.
On Tuesday (24, March), Lobishe and a delegation from the Bay appeared before the committee in Cape Town, where MPs from across party lines — including her own party, the ANC — accused her of misleading the committee, saying her conduct mirrored the metro’s deepening governance crisis.
Lobishe’s appearance came after the committee sent at least six letters and made several phone calls between January and March — most of which went unanswered — following an oversight engagement with the municipality in October last year.
A letter sent on 28 January this year requested details on audit outcomes, contracts, forensic investigations and allegations involving the mayor. Follow-up correspondence between 25 February and 12 March also went unanswered.
The delegation appeared at a precarious moment for Nelson Mandela Bay. The administration is grappling with a cascade of governance, administrative and service delivery failures.
The metro has had a revolving door of key executive directors, faces serious underspending, significant unauthorised and irregular expenditure and is staring down a second consecutive qualified audit.
And that is before anyone even considers service delivery issues. The metro faces serious electricity problems, water outages, recurrent sewage spills and neglect in key tourism areas.
Much like Bay residents, frustrated MPs across party lines said Lobishe’s failure to respond to Parliament pointed to deeper leadership problems rather than a simple administrative lapse. After much obfuscation during Tuesday’s grilling, members accused her of “misleading” the committee.
Letters ignored, and the blame game
Committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize listed repeated failed attempts to obtain information from the mayor’s office – described by Mkhize as “disorganised” –following an oversight engagement in October last year in Port Edward.
A letter sent on 28 January requested details of the metro’s audit outcomes, contracts, forensic investigations and allegations involving the mayor. Follow-up correspondence between 25 February and 12 March also went unanswered.
Against this background, Mkhize told the mayor that due to the municipality’s delays and non-responsiveness to oversight, the committee had been one step away from adopting a resolution to issue a summons under Section 56 of the Constitution.
He acknowledged that this was a serious measure not taken lightly, to compel the mayor to appear before the committee and provide the requested information.
‘Criminal proceedings’
“Non-compliance with such a summons would constitute an offence in terms of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act. It may even result in a fine or imprisonment of up to two years,” said the chairperson.
“Had the committee not received the response on 3 March, it would have proceeded without further delay to issue a summons. This would have created a formal legal obligation to comply, failing which the matter could have escalated to criminal proceedings.”
When questioned about the metro’s silence in the face of Parliament’s serious questions, Lobishe blamed a secretary in her office for failing to bring the committee’s letters to her attention. The secretary, who was not present, had reportedly been issued a warning, according to Lobishe.
The explanation was met with scepticism.
Mkhize pressed her: “So you mean all the correspondence that comes through the mayor’s office gets the same treatment? So people do not get responses from the mayor because of this explanation?”
Lobishe pushed back, insisting she dealt with correspondence daily – but only once it was presented to her by her chief of staff or her secretaries.
She further told the committee that part of her “duties was not to receive direct correspondence, but to deal with the content”.
/file/attachments/orphans/WhatsAppImage2026-03-24at115510_440822.jpeg "Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe arrives late to a sitting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Cape Town on 24 March 2026. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament)")
DA MP Marina van Zyl also challenged Lobishe’s reasons. “A couple of minutes ago, you said that you get all the correspondence on a daily basis and you deal with it,” Van Zyl said before asking, “Is this municipality being run by PAs?”
Heated exchanges
The tone of the meeting soured even further after Lobishe said the committee was pressuring her to give answers. She, however, quickly retracted the remark after MK Party MP Jeffrey Mtolo called her to order for seemingly attempting to avoid questions and accountability.
Mkhizie said, “You have been very rude. You cannot sit here and lecture these members on what to ask you,” he said.
“You have been very rude to this Parliament.”
Eastern Cape Cogta head Vuyo Mlokothi told the committee his department had also failed to get a response from Lobishe, despite urging her office to do so.
“We sensitised them about the need to respond to the letter that came from the portfolio committee,” Mlokothi said. “We did not get a response.”
Mlokothi accused Lobishe of exhibiting poor leadership. “There seems to be a problem with yourself as a leader of that municipality when it comes to issues of correspondence.”
Allegations of misleading Parliament
ANC MP Nombiselo Suzan Sompa-Masiu accused Lobishe of misleading the committee. “Lies have short legs,” she said, after receiving information from a community member who claimed the mayor had three secretaries – none of whom were aware of any disciplinary action.
She continued: “The city manager must explain to me the organogram of that office. Can the mayor have three secretaries? Is it allowed? Because if there are three people who are paid salaries, does that mean there is fruitless expenditure? It must be investigated.”
Van Zyl told the committee that she, too, received information from insiders confirming that no warnings had been issued to the secretaries, as Lobihse had claimed.
Again defending herself instead of taking accountability, Lobishe responded that her chief of staff had advised her that disciplinary action had been taken. She is now expected to provide the committee with evidence to this effect.
/file/attachments/orphans/pic_178741.jpeg "Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe was accompanied by acting city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo, speaker Eugene Johnson, deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk, municipal public accounts committee chair Luxolo Namette and several other senior city officials. (Photo: Phando Jikelo / RSA Parliament)")
‘Disrespectful to Parliament’
Mkhize described Lobishe’s conduct as “disrespectful to Parliament” and evidence of serious disorganisation in the mayor’s office.
The committee has instructed Lobishe to table the matter before the municipal council and report back with a resolution.
Mkhize also told Lobishe that, “I do want to put it to you, mayor, that this whole thing is disrespectful to Parliament and I want you to note the fact that you walked in here [late] and did not apologise until you were asked is an indication of a very terrible attitude.
“For you to say to us that we are putting you under pressure is in the way of you saying we must stop asking you questions. It is incorrect. It is unacceptable. If you think that not answering a letter is a small problem, we actually think it’s very serious.” DM