When a missed email becomes a R88,000 lesson in accountability

It helps to read your mail, a lesson Nelson Mandela Bay officials learnt the hard way — and one that has left taxpayers footing a bill of about R88,029.64 for a trip to Cape Town that was entirely unnecessary.

A high-level delegation travelled to Cape Town on 16 March 2026 to appear before Parliament’s cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) committee, only to discover when they arrived in the Mother City that the meeting had been postponed after they missed a notice rescheduling it to 24 and 25 March.

During last week’s session before the committee, Lobishe was hauled over the coals for missing the delegation’s email and phone calls – a blunder she has placed squarely on administrative shortcomings in her office.

In a scathing 14-page letter, her chief of staff, Mlungisi Lumka, revealed how deep the problem ran.

He wrote that when he joined Lobishe’s office on 1 April 2025, he observed the mayor working through a “mountain of correspondence… busy signing without paying attention.”

“I was horrified,” Lumka wrote.

“It was clear that the handling of correspondence needed urgent attention, as the risks were obvious. I spent the following weeks addressing the backlog which included numerous requests for information and appointments. Many letters were from frustrated stakeholders who had been seeking meetings with the Executive Mayor for months, only to receive no response.

“What I did as a priority: I spent the next few weeks and months addressing the backlog in correspondence. Part of this backlog was a category of requests for information and appointments. What particularly concerned me were letters from angry and frustrated stakeholders who had been asking for an opportunity to meet with the Executive Mayor for months. They were complaining about non-responsiveness.”

Consequences

The administrative lapses had real consequences, it would appear, after the high-level delegation was sent to Cape Town at significant taxpayer expense.

The initial delegation included Mayor Babalwa Lobishe, acting city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo, CFO Jackson Ngcelwane, Director of Water and Sanitation Barry Martin, speaker Eugene Johnson and Lobishe’s bodyguard, Mzukhona Nodaza.

Quotations prepared by Coega Corporate Travel, leaked to Daily Maverick, show that travel costs for the mayor alone amounted to R20,504.94, broken down as follows:

• Round-trip airfare (FlySafair): R9,795.86
• One-night stay at Sunsquare Cape Town Gardens (standard): R1,845.00
• Car rental with Avis (Group F, two days): R7,000
• Booking fee: R1,864.08

The estimated cost for her bodyguard — and, by extension, probably for the rest of the delegation — was R12,804.94.

Last week, chair of the Cogta committee Dr Zweli Mkhize said the fact that the delegation arrived at Parliament – unaware that the engagement had been postponed – “is a mark of disorganisation in a serious office”.

When the delegation eventually returned to Cape Town for the actual parliamentary engagement last week with the Cogta committee, three additional people had joined the high-level delegation.

On Tuesday, Lobishe confirmed that the additional members included deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk, Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) chairperson Luxolo Namette and another employee in the mayor’s office, Anele Kondile.

Responding to a question from Daily Maverick about why three additional people attended, she said: “The reason was for us to have all the people who are able to respond to issues promptly.

“We included the MPAC chair because matters on Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure (UIFWE) were on the agenda. We would have included the chief whip, but we thought it best not to have all troika members away from the city, as there would be no senior leadership remaining within the municipality.”

When pressed for details, Lobishe said that after investigating, they discovered that the committee had notified them on the afternoon of Friday, 13 March, that the initial meeting had been postponed.

A closer look at the travel quotation shows it was prepared on 13 March 2026, with the delegation scheduled to fly from Gqeberha to Cape Town on FlySafair flight FA135 on 16 March.

According to FlySafair’s booking site, flight FA135 departs Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport on Monday evenings at 18:40.

The return flight – based on the mayor and her bodyguard’s quotation – appears to have been FlySafair flight FA568, departing Cape Town International Airport at 20:35.

According to a source, the notice from the parliamentary Cogta committee chair allegedly arrived at 20:20 on Friday, 13 March 2026.

This means the mayor’s office had all of Monday, 16 March 2026, to open the email and would have seen the communication indicating that the meeting had been postponed to 24 March. A rescheduling would have been possible, albeit with a penalty fee.

During last week’s session, Cogta chair Mkhize told the committee that concerns over the mayor’s failure to respond promptly to parliamentary communication should be addressed before the council, and a resolution was required.

On Tuesday, the council resolved that an ad hoc committee — made up of the ANC, DA, ACDP, and EFF — would investigate the mayor’s office for non-responsiveness to a letter from Parliament.

On Tuesday evening, speaker Johnson confirmed the establishment of the committee, saying they would have 14 days to investigate and provide her with a report.

Robust oversight necessary, but ‘belittling’ not appropriate

In her mayoral address on Tuesday, Lobishe said she welcomed robust engagement with Parliament as a critical mechanism to strengthen accountability, transparency and cooperative governance across all spheres.

However, she noted with concern some of the “behaviour” displayed by the parliamentary committee, alleging that city officials were not given sufficient time to provide the necessary information.

She said, “We are open to oversight. We are open to providing the necessary information, as long as everything is done in accordance with the rules of government, without one sphere of government being belittled or denied a fair opportunity in terms of the law.”

According to Lobishe, her office has since ensured that all requested information has been submitted following the Cogta committee sitting.

She said her office had implemented processes to improve “agility” in responding to matters requiring her attention.

Responding to Lobishe’s address, DA councillor Siyasanga Sijadu said: “It takes a level of grandiosity and narcissism to have the courage to stand before the council and the people of NMB after the chaos and embarrassment displayed in Parliament.”

According to Sijadu, Lobishe “should be hanging her head in shame”, and a responsible leader would have issued an apology — or even tender her resignation.

“But it is clear that we are not dealing with someone who is rational; we are not dealing with someone who cares about the city — this is someone who is irresponsible,” Sijadu said.

When Daily Maverick approached Lobishe after the council meeting, she did not respond to Sijadu’s remarks and questioned what she should apologise for.

She said: “On the parliamentary session? I have no apology at all. There is nothing untoward that I have done in Parliament. In fact, I view the process as unfair.

“Did you view the session as fair? Questions were posed, and there was no real opportunity for me to provide information. If you are conducting oversight, you must ask for written submissions. You cannot ask questions outside of what was prepared and expect immediate responses. It is unfair.”

According to Lobishe, she requested an opportunity to submit a report, but was “forced” to respond to MPs off the cuff.

“That is not oversight. So I owe no public apology. I have been doing my work diligently,” she said.

Lobishe said the apparent failures of her chief of staff have forced her to work alone, leaving her to function as both a politician and an administrator.

Once again, she placed blame on Lumka, saying she had been requesting information from him daily, but alleged that he failed to provide it. DM