Nelson Mandela Bay electricity boss pulls the plug on job

After months of turmoil — including being forcibly removed from his office — Nelson Mandela Bay’s acting executive director of electricity and energy, Tholi Biyela, has resigned.

While he tried to stabilise the department and tackle electricity losses, several councillors said his departure exposed a broken system that blocked reform and punished capable leaders.

And though Biyela insists his resignation is unrelated to the turmoil, the councillors and those close to him say it was central to his decision.

He submitted his resignation to acting city manager Ted Pillay on Friday last week.

Biyela served as acting executive director since May after joining the municipality in April as deputy director for high-voltage maintenance.

His last day will be on September 30.

“This decision was not made lightly, as I have greatly valued my time in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality,” he said in the letter.

“The experience, knowledge and professional growth I have gained during my tenure have been invaluable, and I am sincerely grateful for the opportunities afforded to me, as well as for the support and collaboration of my colleagues.”

His letter comes a month after he was dragged out of his Munelek building office by irate workers who accused him of undermining them and ruling with an iron fist.

After being forcibly removed from his office, Biyela issued letters of intent to suspend 13 officials, sparking chaos as the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), representing 5,000 local members, threatened to down tools.

However, Pillay overturned his decision, drawing sharp criticism from multiple quarters.

This decision was initiated by mayor Babalwa Lobishe, who instructed Pillay to withdraw the letters, with the threat of a looming strike.

Just a month ago, Biyela also faced death threats, even opening a case with the police after threats against city officials were widely circulated on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, alleged to have been written by him.

Biyela, who denied having written the messages, said he feared for his life.

Samwu had also accused Biyela of undermining workers by initiating a process to appoint Eskom as an independent contractor.

The union argued that Eskom was sidelining them by bringing in its own service providers to work on municipal infrastructure and fix electricity faults — work they were qualified to do and had been doing since joining the city.

On Thursday, Biyela declined to be drawn into speculation that he felt undermined and was resigning as a result.

Instead, he said he was pursuing other challenges after he had received a job offer.

“I am not permanently employed as the executive director and, therefore, I have taken up a role in another institution that is equivalent to this acting position,” he said.

“Considering everything that has happened, I must say it was not a hard decision to make.

“But this is purely a career move and not based on the issues within the municipality.”

Samwu regional secretary Siphokazi Lobishe said she did not want to comment on the matter.

“The municipality has had employees leaving the institution for years, and what’s very interesting, Samwu was never asked for a comment.”

Electricity and energy political head Ziyanda Mnqokoyi said her focus remained on stability and service delivery.

“Though his tenure came with challenges, we appreciate the contributions he made to the department during a difficult period,” Mnqokoyi said.

“The resignation does not stall service delivery as the administration has contingency measures in place to ensure continuity.

“The message we want workers to take is that while differences may arise, they must always be addressed through dialogue and proper channels, not confrontation.

“Recent events indeed highlight the complexities of managing a large and high-pressure department.

“However, we remain confident that professionals will continue to serve the municipality.”

Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said Biyela had not been pushed out.

“When the incumbent was removed in an unfortunate incident, appropriate action was taken, including engagements with organised labour on issues where we needed to find each other as stakeholders,” Soyaya said.

“Throughout his acting tenure, Biyela received full delegation of authority and support to perform his duties from the municipality.

“His decision to resign is entirely his prerogative, based on pursuing new career opportunities and is unrelated to any operational challenges or past events within the electricity department.

“Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect and unfounded.”

DA councillor Ondela Kepe said Biyela’s resignation was unfortunate but the circumstances that led to the decision came as no surprise.

“If you have leadership that can’t stand up against people willing to do anything to have their objectives met at the expense of residents and senior management, we can expect people to leave,” Kepe said. 

“The institution already has a bad reputation among professionals.

“We struggle to get professionals to apply for jobs because the city is not seen as an employer of choice.

“We struggle to get engineers to apply for jobs, which is essentially devastating given our trade services require engineers.”

Kepe said the actions of Pillay and the mayor pertaining to the withdrawal of the letters of intent to suspend workers in the electricity department had exposed the metro’s lack of professionalism.

“As for Pillay, I’ve seen first-hand what his kind of leadership and indecisiveness have done to Makhanda, and he’s bringing the same thing here.”

Pillay could not be reached for comment.

ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said Biyela’s tenure had brought a measure of stability to the department.

Grootboom said he had introduced sound proposals aimed at reducing electricity losses and improving service delivery.

“He consistently availed himself to engage with stakeholders and responded timeously to matters affecting our communities.

“It is, however, a matter of grave concern that progressive leadership and the pursuit of change within the department continue to face resistance from those determined to protect the status quo.

“This unfortunate culture undermines the potential for meaningful reform and discourages capable leaders who are committed to improving governance and service delivery.”

Grootboom said Biyela had been committed to addressing the challenges faced by the department.

“His departure is a loss to the city, and it highlights the urgent need for structural reforms that will enable ethical and competent leaders to serve without obstruction.”

ANC councillor Gamalihleli Maqula said that since Biyela took over, more problems had emerged.

“He failed to stabilise the department,” Maqula said.

“I’m not saying who’s right or wrong, but at some point he wanted to suspend 13 workers, and I wonder how the department was meant to function efficiently with that decision.

“He is the common denominator of all problems in that department.”

The Herald