South Africa: Nelson Mandela Bay Opposition Accuses Coalition of U-Turn On R23bn Uifwe Write-Off

By Andisa Bonani

Opposition parties accuse Nelson Mandela Bay's ruling coalition of hypocrisy after National Treasury forced it to backtrack on a R23-billion UIFWE write-off.

The ACDP in Nelson Mandela Bay has accused Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) chair Luxolo Namette and Mayor Babalwa Lobishe of an embarrassing U-turn after backing a proposed R23-billion unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure write-off without first conducting an item-by-item investigation, only to now position themselves as champions of accountability.

The investigation they sought to bypass is meant to establish liability, determine whether money can be recovered, ensure consequence management and identify matters that warrant criminal investigation.

It took a blunt intervention from National Treasury's deputy director-general for intergovernmental relations, Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, on 19 August to derail the proposal. Gaarekwe told the city that MPAC's recommendation for the council to approve a blanket write-off was unlawful and did not comply with Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

For context: Plan to write off R23bn is illegal, Treasury tells Nelson Mandela Bay August 23, 2026 The letter followed complaints from the ACDP and DA to Treasury, which had warned that MPAC's recommendation to write off the unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE) was unlawful because it bypassed due process.

The city postponed Tuesday's council meeting, which was due to consider the UIFWE matter...

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