Nelson Mandela Bay mayor survives no-confidence motions

Despite criticism of her leadership by parliamentarians last week, two no-confidence motions aimed at ousting Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe failed in Tuesday’s council meeting when most councillors voted against them.

Lobishe was also cleared of any wrongdoing by the ANC’s Provincial Integrity Commission (PIC). A cloud has been hanging over Lobishe since early February. A negative finding from the PIC could have derailed Lobishe’s political future.

Both the motions and the integrity probe stem from a case opened in January by former Good party leader Siyanda Mayana, linked to the controversial leasing of a R25-million municipal transformer to Coega Steels last year.

FOR CONTEXT

Nelson Mandela Bay's lease of transformer to private company under further scrutiny

February 24, 2026

The motions’ submission was further motivated by the collapse of high-voltage electricity transmission pylons this year, which plunged large parts of the city into darkness for weeks, and the water crisis affecting the city.

The no-confidence motions, filed by the Freedom Front Plus Councillor Bill Harington and the ACDP Councillor Lance Grootboom, failed to pass. Several DA members were absent, while the UDM’s sole councillor voted with the coalition government.

The ACDP and Freedom Front Plus were relying on votes from the DA (48 seats) and the EFF (8) to remove Lobishe. In the end, all EFF councillors voted against the motions, except for Siyabulela Mosi, who had left the meeting. AIM councillor Khusta Jack, also part of the coalition, left before the motions were tabled.

Speaking on the sidelines of council, ACDP councillor Grootboom said the party had been compelled to table the motion after prolonged service delivery failures affecting residents across the metro.

He indicated the collapse of high-voltage electricity transmission pylons under the mayor’s watch and said funds earmarked for refurbishing the 132kV powerlines had not been allocated.

Grootboom also raised concerns about the leasing of the transformer, noting that Lobishe conceded in Parliament last week that the asset had been leased irregularly.

“Our cost coverage ratio is sitting at one month and 22 days. The city is not in a good place and there is no intervention to change that. The motion was also intended to test whether opposition parties could unite to install new leadership. We tabled it to say to the ANC; Let us remove her. It was also an opportunity for parties like the DA to participate,” he said.

Grootboom rejected criticism from the DA that smaller parties were attempting to return the ANC to power.

Good party councillor Lawrence Troon, meanwhile, accused the DA of deliberately sabotaging the no-confidence motions.

Troon said the motions had a real chance of succeeding but were undermined by the absence of seven DA councillors.

“On Monday, DA provincial leader Andrew Whitfield committed that they would support the motion. What he did not say was that they were going to sabotage this council meeting by having seven councillors absent,” Troon said.

According to Troon, the absence of the councillors made it “completely impossible” for the motion to pass.

“We managed to secure 48 votes in favour. If the seven DA councillors were present, that number would have increased to 55. With support from smaller parties, we could have reached 57, and potentially 58 votes,” he said.

Troon said additional absentees across parties also affected the outcome, including deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk, an EFF councillor and two ANC councillors.

“There was a real possibility of us ousting the mayor today, exactly a year on. But because of the schemes of the DA, we are where we are,” he said.

He further accused the DA of misleading residents and enabling the ANC to remain in power.

“The DA must stop playing to the gallery. They are the reason the ANC is still in government in this metro. It is clear they are comfortable with the status quo,” Troon said.

Troon also suggested that there might be undisclosed cooperation between the DA and ANC.

“There needs to be a deeper investigation. There is more to this than meets the eye. There is something very fishy about the relationship between the DA and the ANC in this metro,” he said.

DA councillor Gustav Rautenbach dismissed claims by Troon that they had plotted to sabotage the motions.

“We followed due processes by submitting the names of the councillors who took leave of absence at the start of the meeting, as is normal practice. If he wants to come with rumours and stories about us, then the DA is in his head.”

He said the motion was the result of a long assessment of the mayor’s performance, rather than a sudden political move.

“The motion of no confidence was not thought out overnight. We have analysed the mayor and found that she is too light to govern and lead a metro as big as Nelson Mandela Bay.”

Freedom Front Plus Councillor Bill Harington cited concerns over what he described as a lack of accountability, accusing the mayor of deflecting responsibility during council proceedings.

“At every council meeting, she speaks about accountability, yet she blames everyone except herself. It is the first time in the history of this metro that two motions of no confidence against a mayor were brought, and both were entertained.

“Unfortunately, we are sitting with parties in this structure who are there just for the salaries and not for the people.”

The ANC’s PIC cleared Lobishe of any wrongdoing in the controversial matter relating to the leasing of the R25-million municipal transformer to private company Coega Steels last year.

Lobishe told the commission that she acted in the interests of the more than 600 people employed by the company, who would have been laid off or have lost their jobs had the city not come to its rescue. Therefore, the action had not put the party into disrepute.

Lobishe was summoned to appear before the PIC early in February after former Good party leader Siyanda Mayana opened a case against her in January. The matter is being investigated by the Hawks.

The PIC hearing, chaired by Professor Shepherd Mayatula, was heard on 5 February, where Lobishe made representations about how the city came to lease the transformer without a council resolution, as required.

According to the PIC report, Lobishe blamed former acting city manager Ted Pillay for misleading her, leading to her signing the agreement between the city and Coega Steels.

She told the commissioners that she had not been included by Mr Pillay in the initial correspondence on the leasing of the transformer.

“On 21 August 2025, Mr Pillay received a letter from Coega Steels requesting him to lease a transformer owned by the municipality to their company. On 22 August, a letter was written by Mr Pillay to Coega Steels confirming that the municipality would be leasing the transformer to the company.

On 28 August, Mr Pillay wrote a letter to the acting director for electricity and energy (Tholi Biyela) that the municipality would be assisting Coega Steels with the transformer,” the report reads.

Mayatula said in the findings that it was only on 4 September 2025 that Pillay wrote a memorandum to Lobishe recommending that the transformer be leased to Coega Steels because of the economic effects that the breakdown of the company’s transformer would have on the city’s economy.

“The memorandum was subsequently approved, and a mayoral resolution was prepared. On 11 September, Mr Pillay signed an agreement to lease the municipal asset. The special mayoral committee meeting that took place on 2nd September 2025 was informed of the resolution,” Mayatula indicated.

Council was subsequently informed about the matter on 28 October and resolved that the agreement was unlawful, with the recommendation that it be reviewed and set aside in court.

“None of the documents provided states that Babalwa Lobishe was charged. The documents received show council resolutions and the progress being made. All the documents provided do not point any finger [at] the mayor having broken the law or having benefited from the transaction which took place between Coega Steels and the municipality,” reads the PIC report.

Ultimately, the commission found that there was no pending case or investigation against Lobishe.

Lobishe said it was in the city’s interest to maintain stability in the office of the mayor.

“To me, it’s short-sightedness and political grandstanding from the two councillors, but I’m not surprised by their attitude because they have been displaying that they’re not part of the council but merely people who are here to criticise things that happen in council,” she added. DM