The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

It has emerged in yesterday's Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs that City circulars are being distributed by a staff member under the name of the Acting Municipal Manager. On Tuesday, a job advert was signed for publication by a so-called municipal manager, but Nelson Mandela Bay does not currently have a Municipal Manager.

The City's Municipal Manager has been on paid suspension since 2024, at a cost to ratepayers of R6.7m.

A supposed signature of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) was used to sign the circular, yet in Committee, the CFO expressed having learnt that circulars are being signed under his name and that the signature that was being used wasn’t even his.

Shockingly, the Mayor knew nothing about this.

As Nelson Mandela Bay braces for floods, governance has deteriorated so badly that NGOs are donating funds for fuel to the City, as there is no one in the City to lawfully sign off on transactions. This is after the President's visit, where he had warm remarks about the Mayor's governance.

The DA will urgently write to Minister Hlabisa to urgently intervene, as the Eastern Cape Province has failed in its mandate to stabilise Nelson Mandela Bay. Minister Hlabisa must establish where in the City the fraud syndicate is occurring and seek criminal action, working with the SAPS.

Residents have endured enough, from violent crime, dry taps, numerous SIU investigations and now further fraud. Minister Hlabisa must now step up.

Issued by Marina van Zyl MP - DA Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs