South Africa: Conflict-Riddled Nelson Mandela Bay Places City Manager On Precautionary Suspension

22 October 2023
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Estelle Ellis

Following an emergency council meeting on Friday, Nelson Mandela Bay's city manager, Dr Noxolo Nqwazi, was placed on precautionary suspension with full pay.

The Nelson Mandela Bay city manager was placed on precautionary suspension with full pay on Friday, 20 October, following an emergency meeting of the city council.

Her suspension follows two weeks of running battles between her and the metro's executive mayor, Gary van Niekerk.

The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has demanded that action be taken against Nqwazi after her arrest by the Hawks in 2022. He has made this a condition for the release of R781-million in grants to the metro.

Nqwazi was arrested by the Hawks in September 2022 for her alleged role in the unlawful signing off of a R24-million tender for toilets to be installed in informal settlements. The tender - awarded during the pandemic-related National State of Disaster - was flagged by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has had three coalition governments since the local government election in 2021. The first was led by the ANC, the second by the DA and the third by an ANC-EFF coalition with the National Alliance's Van Niekerk becoming mayor.

During the first ANC coalition government, the council had decided to legally review the SIU report. Nqwazi was also exonerated by the metro's disciplinary...

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