The EFF has urged Nelson Mandela Bay speaker Eugene Johnson to reconstitute the ad hoc committee investigating mayor Babalwa Lobishe, arguing that it was improperly established.
The multiparty committee is tasked with investigating allegations that Lobishe repeatedly failed to respond to parliament’s requests for information.
In a letter to Johnson last week, EFF councillor and the party’s chief whip, Ntombizanele Sikawuti, called for the committee set up by the council to be reconstituted.
“I write to you with serious concern regarding the ad hoc committee meeting you convened and chaired on April 7, during which [DA councillor] Morne Steyn was purportedly elected as chair,” Sikawuti said.
She said there had been irregularities and procedural flaws in the establishment of the committee.
Lobishe came under fire during an appearance before parliament’s co-operative governance and traditional affairs portfolio committee in March, when the city was grilled on its evergreen contracts.
During a council meeting on March 31, it was agreed that an ad hoc committee would be established to investigate the allegations against Lobishe, who survived two no-confidence motions.
Addressing councillors, the mayor denied allegations that she had misled the parliamentary committee.
She had been grilled over her failure to respond to correspondence from committee chair Zweli Mkhize, as well as her role in leasing a R25m municipal transformer to Coega Steels.
Lobishe faced criticism for the municipality’s lack of response to repeated letters from the committee — a lapse she attributed to failures by her two PAs and chief of staff.
However, her chief of staff, Mlungisi Lumka, hit back, saying she was fully aware of the letters.
In her letter to Johnson, Sikawuti said no secretary had been present to record the proceedings of the ad hoc committee.
“In terms of the rules of order, the proceedings of a meeting must be recorded, and minutes must be compiled and maintained as an official record.
“The absence of recorded minutes renders the meeting procedurally defective, as there is no official record of attendance, deliberations, or resolutions.
She said the committee sitting was not a formal meeting but an informal gathering without legal standing.
“No formal correspondence was issued from your office to the EFF chief whip or party leader requesting the nomination of representatives to serve on the committee.
“This is inconsistent with the rules of order, which require that notice of meetings be formally communicated to councillors.
“Without such formal communication, the legitimacy of the committee’s composition is fundamentally compromised.
She also said ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom did not attend the meeting in person and was instead reached via a WhatsApp call.
“All other councillors were physically present in the meeting, yet you, as the speaker and chair of the session, took it upon yourself to personally contact and enable Grootboom to participate and vote through your own mobile device.
“This conduct is highly irregular and procedurally flawed ...”
She said the rules of order required that remote meetings be properly arranged to ensure transparency, accessibility and accurate record-keeping for all participants.
“Accordingly, the EFF is of the firm view that you are no longer in a position to act as a neutral presiding officer in this matter.”
She requested that:
- Johnson recuses herself from further involvement in the committee; and
- Allow another councillor who could demonstrate impartiality to preside over the reconstituted proceedings.
“It is clear that the meeting held on April 7 does not meet the requirements of a lawful council committee meeting.
“Accordingly, any resolutions purportedly taken during that meeting are null and void and cannot be recognised by the council.”
Sikawuti and EFF councillor Ndumiso Qwazi, who wrote a follow-up letter to Johnson, said the party would not attend any further meetings of the committee until their issues were addressed.
Qwazi said on Monday that the committee sat again on April 9.
“Our concerns were not entertained, and Steyn presided over the meeting.
“The ANC said it would abstain if the EFF continues with this process.
“We said if we’re not given an ear, we’re going to have to pull out.”
Johnson said Sikawuti was part of the meeting that democratically elected Steyn as ad-hoc chair.
“Councillor Sikawuti was part of the democratic process that elected councillor Steyn.”
An ad hoc committee was previously established to investigate allegations against deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk, who was then serving as speaker.
The committee recommended he be suspended or removed as a councillor.
Van Niekerk was accused of hiring Boqwana Burns Incorporated in 2022 when his seat in council was declared vacant by now-suspended city manager Noxolo Nqwazi and racked up a legal bill of R551,586.
The matter is now in court.
