Nelson Mandela Bay’s final council meeting before the local government elections collapsed on Tuesday as the majority of councillors opted to focus on campaigning instead.
This was the third meeting convened in three weeks after two previous ones were postponed.
As she opened the meeting, council speaker Eugene Johnson told the few councillors present she had received several apologies from various parties, including mayor Babalwa Lobishe.
“We did receive apologies from various political parties that indicated that they wouldn’t be able to attend,” Johnson said.
“The mayor is not here as well, and she’s submitted an apology. We do not have a quorum.
“I must just inform council that the troika has received letters from the attorneys of the suspended city manager [Noxolo Nqwazi], which were going to be tabled, but unfortunately, due to the absence of a quorum and the absence of the mayor who brought an item on the suspended city manager, we won’t be able to deal with that, as well as other items brought by [acting] city manager [Lonwabo Ngoqo] as well as the mayor to council.”
On the eve of the meeting, EFF caucus leader Khanya Ngqisha wrote to Johnson informing her that the party would not attend Tuesday’s special council meeting.
Ngqisha said the EFF was preparing for the upcoming elections
He said that with about a month to go before the elections, council should have been in recess.
“We find it concerning that council meetings continue to be convened at this stage of the electoral period,” Ngqisha wrote.
“To our knowledge, there is no emergency or exceptional matter that necessitates the continued convening of ordinary or special council meetings during this period.
“We further understand that councils across the country are already on recess in anticipation of the upcoming elections.
“It is therefore concerning that the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality continues to convene council meetings while political parties are required to conduct their electoral programmes and campaigns.
“The EFF caucus accordingly requests that you urgently reconsider the continued scheduling of council meetings and initiate the necessary processes for council to go on recess until after the elections.”
The agenda included ratification of municipal manager resolutions taken between council meetings, including payments to service providers for phone services, grass-cutting services, places of safety provided to several councillors and a trip Lobishe took to attend the 2026 Metro FM Awards held in Durban earlier this year.
More than two years after Nqwazi was suspended, disciplinary chair Prof Adriaan van der Walt found the process had not been lawfully constituted, halting the hearing before he could rule on the merits of the allegations.
Shortly after the ruling, Ngoqo barred Nqwazi from City Hall, insisting she remained suspended despite the ruling that the long-delayed disciplinary tribunal had no jurisdiction to continue.
The ruling also stated the council could start the process afresh.
Before the meeting was adjourned, GOOD councillor Lawrence Troon accused the DA and ANC of working together to collapse the meeting when several of their councillors did not arrive.
“What’s happening here has been planned because we all know the city manager had a disciplinary hearing, and there was no-one from the municipality or legal, and she was cleared to come back,” Troon said.
“We know the mayor does not want Nqwazi here.
“We also know a senior counsel in the DA is assisting the ANC in achieving what they want to achieve.
“Nqwazi must sue them for what happened today.
“This is a deliberate manoeuvre by them to prevent her from coming back.
“Let the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay know that there are crooks within the ANC and DA.”
DA caucus leader Rano Kayser said the collapse of Tuesday’s meeting was an exercise to cover up wasteful expenditure.
“What is happening here is a beautiful exercise by her [Johnson’s] office to cover up wasteful expenditure,” he said.
“The decision taken last night at the [ANC] RWC [regional working committee] was not to have this meeting.”
ANC councillor Yolisa Pali jumped in and asked that Kayser withdraw the statement about the RWC.
“Even if he has got his spies who are leaking the information of the meeting of the ANC, he has no right to speak about what has been discussed in the ANC meetings.
“He’s not a member of the ANC,” Pali said.
Kayser doubled down, saying the meeting was collapsing due to a political decision.
Before adjourning the meeting, Johnson announced the council would be going on recess from Wednesday.
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