Nelson Mandela Bay mayor faces high-stakes no-confidence vote

Nelson Mandela Bay’s coalition faces a defining test this week as opposition parties scramble to secure the numbers needed to oust Mayor Babalwa Lobishe in a high-stakes no-confidence vote.

With 61 votes required from the 120-member council, the outcome will hinge on support from coalition partners and the DA, the city’s largest opposition party.

The ACDP and Freedom Front Plus submitted their notices of motion earlier this month after the controversial leasing of a R25-million transformer to private company Coega Steels — without following due process — resulted in Lobishe being summoned before the ANC provincial integrity commission.

The Hawks are also investigating after former Good party leader Siyanda Mayana opened a case against the mayor in January.

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Mayana, ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom, Good party councillor Lawrence Troon and Freedom Front Plus councillor Bill Harington held a joint media briefing in Gqeberha on Monday.

Mayana said he was counting on the EFF and DA to support the motions, following informal discussions with party leaders over the weekend.

The EFF, which holds eight seats, is part of a coalition with the ANC (48), NA (3), DOP (2), PAC (1), AIC (1), and AIM (1), with additional voting support from the UDM (1). The ACDP and Freedom Front Plus each hold two seats in the 120-member council.

With 61 votes needed to remove Lobishe, the DA — holding 48 seats — is now the crucial swing player, alongside smaller opposition parties including the PA (2) and Good (1).

“The EFF will support the motion. This is what I have been told when I engaged some people over the weekend. The only issue the EFF had was the removal of the coalition government, which is not what we are doing – the structure can remain, but Lobishe must go,” said Mayana.

“Part of the reason we are not removing the entire government is because the cowards of the DA have been saying to us that they don’t support the removal or election of any new mayors in the metros. It’s a resolution of the DA’s FedEx, actually, but after they have been pressured by their own constituents, they have changed the tune and will now support the motions.”

Mayana said the DA decided to support the motions because, had it not, it risked losing votes to the FF Plus.

“When I asked why they were not willing to take over the government, I was told the DA does not believe it can turn around the situation of the metro in the remaining months before the local government elections.

“I said, but the situation we are faced with will still be there after elections, and why do they think they will be able to stabilise the metro after the elections when they have conceded that they don’t have the capacity. Their constituency must know this information because they are affected by Lobishe’s bad leadership.”

“We will not beg the DA, but some of their leaders approached me and said they will support us because of the circumstances surrounding the mayor.”

Mayana said he also had a commitment from the DOP, that it would assist by voting Lobishe out.

Lobishe appeared before the parliamentary committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs last week, where she was questioned about the leasing of the transformer, her frozen bank accounts and governance and service delivery failures experienced in the metro.

The committee chair gave a directive to council speaker Eugene Johnson to submit an item to deal with Lobishe’s conduct.

Troon said a defining moment had been reached in the history of the metro, claiming there had never been a worse mayor than Lobishe.

He said the last time his party filed a motion against the ANC-led coalition, the DA had protected Lobishe.

Troon said that when he opened a case against former acting city manager Ted Pillay last year for the transformer lease, the DA had a lot to say, but when a case was opened against Lobishe, they were silent.

He said the Cogta parliamentary committee chair Zweli Mkhize’s directive for the council to deal with Lobishe would not yield any positive results for the metro.

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“We know that nothing will happen to Lobishe because the ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) does not care about who they deploy to the metro as mayor because most of them are not from here and don’t care about the people of the city.

“Lobishe can’t be the best mayoral candidate that the ANC has for the city, and if it is, then the ANC does not deserve to be in government here.”

Reacting to some of the statements made in the briefing, DA Eastern Cape provincial leader Andrew Whitfield said the party had not received a formal invitation to be part of discussions.

“I had long informal conversations with them, but there’s no formal letter from them asking for our support, and the DA’s FedEx would determine if we should proceed. They never formally approached the DA caucus leader or any other senior leaders. So it is disingenuous for them to expect us to respond to a request they didn’t formally make.”

EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Tambo and EFF Bay mayoral committee member Khanya Ngqisha could not be reached for comment.

Whitfield criticised the parties moving to oust Lobishe, saying their decision to table two motions when only one was needed showed a clear lack of coordination.

“The caucus had a discussion and made a decision to support, but because we were not formally informed, on what basis do they expect us to inform them about our internal decisions?

“When the motions were announced, DA mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal delivered a public address in which he expressed that we will support the motions.”

Whitfield said submitting motions without proper consultation to ensure there were enough numbers for the motions of no confidence to succeed caused more instability.

“[This] is why the DA has to take an informed position on whether to support or not. Given how catastrophic Lobishe’s leadership has been, she should be removed.”

On Mayana’s sentiments about the DA’s risk of losing votes, Whitfield said this demonstrated that the Lobishe removal was about politics, when the parties involved had no capacity on their own to run a government.

FF Plus member Renaldo Gouws said it was problematic for parties represented in the council to get instructions from people who didn’t live there.

“There’s this perception that everything has to go through the big boss, which is the FedEx; this is a problem the (DA) caucus has, and I also experienced it when I was with them.

“If the councillors here can’t make decisions based on what they see and live, it’s a problem. Even if they have to get permission, I hope the councillors here will stand up and make the right decision for the people of the city.”

Gouws said this raised questions about what would happen if Odendaal became mayor after the elections.

“Because they put all of their branding behind individuals and not so much the party, because it has lost so much credibility. So if Retief gets to be mayor, will he get instructions from the top or will he make his own decisions?”

Grootboom said all parties present at the Cogta parliamentary session expressed unhappiness with Lobishe’s leadership of the metro.

“If you look at the parties that serve in the Cogta parliamentary session, all of them were disappointed with Lobishe’s leadership. So it’s either they played for the media or were serious, because if they are serious, their party members will remove her tomorrow.

“MPs from both the EFF and DA were not happy with Lobishe, and [how] things are in the city. If they don’t support the motions, it will mean they have double standards, and all they said in that committee was mere lip service,” said Grootboom. DM