Two opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay have submitted no-confidence motions against Mayor Babalwa Lobishe, citing failures in electricity and water infrastructure management. The motions highlight repeated pylon collapses and controversial transformer leasing amid ongoing service disruptions. The mayor dismissed the challenge as expected from critics.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) have launched motions of no confidence against Mayor Babalwa Lobishe. The actions, submitted this week, accuse her of inadequate oversight on critical infrastructure, leading to electricity crises and water shortages that have affected residents and businesses.
ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom's motion, filed on Wednesday, points to the collapse of a seventh high-voltage pylon on Tuesday as evidence of systemic failures. He stated, “The repeated collapse of electricity pylons within a short period demonstrates a systemic failure to maintain and protect the municipality’s high-voltage electricity transmission network.” Grootboom criticized the lack of urgent maintenance programs despite prior warnings. Earlier incidents include two pylons collapsing in January, causing a six-day blackout for half the city, and four in August 2024, resulting in a two-week outage.
Grootboom also addressed water issues, noting, “The mayor has also failed to provide decisive leadership in addressing persistent water outages and the broader deterioration of municipal infrastructure.” FF Plus councillor Bill Harington, who submitted his motion on Tuesday, echoed these concerns, adding allegations of unlawful transformer removal and bank account freezes amid fraud claims. The R25-million transformer was leased to Coega Steels last year, raising governance questions.
The 120-member council requires 61 votes to remove the mayor. The ANC-led coalition, with 48 seats plus allies, holds a majority, while opposition includes the DA with 48 seats. Speaker Eugene Johnson confirmed receipt of the notices and is reviewing them for compliance ahead of the next meeting.
Mayor Lobishe responded unfazed, particularly to Harington's motion, saying, “FF Plus never had confidence in us... It’s a non-issue, really.” Separately, she filed an extortion case against former Good party chair Siyanda Mayana on Tuesday, alleging he demanded R170,000 to drop fraud accusations against her. Mayana, who opened a fraud case in January leading to her Capitec account being paused for Fica compliance, denied the claims and called them frivolous. Lobishe claimed audio evidence of the demand and defended the transformer lease to protect 600 jobs.
