GQEBERHA – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched an application in the Gqeberha High Court seeking to hold Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe and former Acting City Manager Ted Pillay personally liable for alleged unlawful expenditure linked to the Nelson Mandela Bay transformer lease.

Retief Odendaal, MPL and DA NMB mayoral candidate, said their application contends that a transformer, a strategic municipal asset valued at approximately R25 million in municipal documents, was unlawfully leased to Coega Steels in September 2025.

Odendaal said the lease was approved by Lobishe and signed by Pillay despite clear legal advice that the matter first needed to be referred to Council for authorisation.

“This was never done,” he said.

He said Lobishe also admitted to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) that the deal was irregular.

“We have applied to the Court for an order compelling the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to recover unlawful expenditure under the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) from Lobishe and Pillay in their personal capacities,” said Odendaal.

“We want to recover every single cent of unlawful expenditure arising from this deal, including the legal costs incurred by the Municipality.”

Odendaal accused Lobishe of ignoring legal advice and bypassing Council, saying this had exposed residents to risk and contributed to governance failures in the Municipality.

“She has demonstrated that she is not fit to hold office and must be held accountable,” he said.

PE Express has reached out to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for comment. An update will follow once a response is received.

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