R35m streetlight scandal: Calls grow for forensic probe into NMB electricity department

With large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay still in the dark due to faulty streetlights, pressure is mounting on the metro to act against 21 officials implicated in a R35-million procurement scandal — and to open the electricity and energy directorate to a full forensic probe.

DA councillor Ondela Kepe, who in January pushed for the suspension of the officials, wrote to acting city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo on Monday, 21 April, calling for their precautionary suspension.

Kepe’s letter to Ngoqo comes after a closed-door council meeting on 17 April, where SIU advocate Zolile Kwayimani presented the unit’s findings into controversial streetlight contracts that left councillors frustrated because the names of implicated officials were not disclosed.

Metro rejects claims of reluctance to act

Kepe has accused the metro of being reluctant to suspend officials implicated in the scandal, citing what he describes as political interference and entrenched interests within the electricity and energy directorate.

“There has been a definite reluctance to act. And it is possibly based on two aspects. The one being political, because there are certain people within that [electricity] directorate that are connected to politicians who know how to get their way,” he told Daily Maverick on Tuesday.

Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya, however, rejected the claim, saying the city was acting within legal and procedural requirements when considering precautionary suspensions.

Kepe recalled the example of former acting city manager Ted Pillay, who withdrew letters of intention to suspend 13 electricity directorate employees — letters that had been issued by then acting electricity boss Tholi Biyela. Biyela issued the letters after he was forcibly removed from his office. He resigned shortly after Pillay intervened.

Kepe described a culture of fear surrounding what he called the “untouchables” within the electricity department.

“We have a whole syndicate operating in that directorate. A syndicate that has become so sophisticated that it knows how to hide itself and reveal certain parts of itself. That in some instances, even the officials, the senior officials within that department, are unable to really act against these individuals out of fear of certain consequences outside the legal prescripts and the political backlash.

“There are a lot of people who have entrenched themselves in that directorate, and there is definitely a lack of firm and decisive leadership from the top.”

In his letter, Kepe asked Ngoqo to:

1. Institute precautionary suspensions of all officials implicated in Internal Audit, SIU and related investigations within the Electricity and Energy Directorate.
2. Provide the council with a full list of implicated officials and contractors across all affected tenders.
3. Suspend or review all electricity and energy contracts that have been reasonably brought into question, including, but not limited to, SCM/18-207/C, SCM/20-108, SCM/20-27G, and SCM/1112/C.
4. Release all internal audit, SIU and investigative reports relevant to these matters to the council.
5. Initiate a comprehensive forensic investigation into all electricity directorate procurement processes dating back to at least 2017.

The SIU probe stems from a whistleblower report by former Defenders of the People councillor Tukela Zumani, now leader of the Mayibuye Civic Movement. The report flagged alleged irregularities in streetlight tenders approved by the metro on 10 November 2020.

According to the SIU report, evidence of alleged misconduct involving 21 municipal officials was referred to the municipality between 25 November 2025 and 31 March 2026.

Ngoqo, however, told councillors he became fully aware of the matter only during a parliamentary engagement on 24 and 25 March 2026, where the SIU also made a presentation on the matter.

MUNICIPAL DYSFUNCTION

NMB streetlight tender — officials and contractors face criminal referrals as probe nears end

March 24, 2026

“We went to Parliament; that is when I became aware of this, where the presentation was made by the SIU. We were told there that we must take action. I said this was never presented to me as the accounting officer,” Ngoqo said.

He said that upon returning from Cape Town, he requested a formal briefing from the SIU, which took place on 9 April.

While the acting city manager said that he had not been aware of the issues referred to the city by the SIU, Kepe said that it was not right for Ngoqo to claim ignorance.

“One of the things that I pointed out to the acting city manager is that when reports, legal opinions or letters are written to the office, they are not written to the individual that is currently occupying the office. They are written to the office,” he said.

In his letter to Ngoqo, Kepe particularly raises the written legal opinion dated 30 September 2024.

Kepe, who describes the opinion as “damning”, says irregularities include unauthorised and irregular expenditure, payments lacking adequate supporting documentation and work conducted beyond the approved contract scope.

The report further identifies the repeated use of deviations and contract extensions to circumvent competitive procurement requirements. Crucially, these are not legacy issues and they also persist in more recent tenders.

He said: “So when you get into that office and you assume that responsibility, part of that responsibility is to ensure that you are apprised of all critical issues, particularly of this nature and this magnitude.

“So it can’t be unreasonable to expect him to say if there is a specific issue around corruption that dates back as far as 2017. He must ask his staff in the office, ‘Is there any correspondence that I need to be aware of regarding this issue’, so that he can have the full context.”

No blanket suspensions, says municipality

Commenting on the apparent reluctance to suspend the officials, Soyaya said the municipality rejected the notion that suspension was an automatic or default response.

“In law, precautionary suspension is a specific intervention that must be justified on objective grounds, including demonstrable risk to investigations, institutional integrity, or service delivery. Each of the referred matters is being assessed individually against these legal thresholds,” Soyaya said.

“Where the threshold for precautionary suspension is met, the municipality is initiating the necessary processes, including notices of intention to suspend.

“Where the threshold is not met, alternative control measures are being implemented, including reassignment of responsibilities and strengthened oversight. A blanket or indiscriminate approach to suspensions would be unlawful and would not withstand legal scrutiny,” Soyaya said.

“In relation to timelines, precautionary suspensions and disciplinary steps will be effected as soon as legal thresholds and procedural requirements are satisfied. It would be improper and legally reckless to impose arbitrary timelines outside of due process,” he said. DM