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The municipal public accounts committee wants Nelson Mandela Bay acting city manager Lonwabo Ngoqo held accountable for failing to implement a council resolution adopted two weeks ago.
During a previous municipal public accounts committee (Mpac) meeting, Ngoqo was instructed to write to officials implicated in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE) of about R1.3m.
However, it emerged during the meeting that Ngoqo did not. Instead, he had referred their instruction to the disciplinary board.
During a June 15 meeting, councillors recommended that Ngoqo write to the officials allegedly involved in the R1.3m unauthorised expenditure on events and that they be allowed to state their case in writing.
Also, that the matter be referred to the disciplinary board by Ngoqo, or his successor, for further disposition and a report-back to Mpac.
It recommended that the city claw back the money spent on events commemorating Human Rights Day in 2025 and International Anti-Corruption Day in 2024, logistics for a public meeting in March 2025, and a public viewing of the Eastern Cape state of the province address in February 2025.
It also includes a Freedom Day event in 2025, loud-hailing services between November and December 2024 and the official opening of the provincial legislature in August 2024.
However, when the meeting began, councillors noted that the agenda did not include the written replies from implicated officials.
They questioned if they were written to in the first place.
DA councillor Gert Engelbrecht and ANC councillor Luzuko Peter questioned Ngoqo’s absence and asked for confirmation that he had submitted an apology.
They also asked whether the implicated officials had responded after being given seven days at the previous meeting to explain themselves.
Mpac chair Luxolo Namette read out Ngoqo’s apology, stating he was attending a National Treasury meeting.
CFO Jackson Ngcelwane stood in as acting city manager.
Namette expressed frustration that committee resolutions were repeatedly ignored, saying reports requested at previous meetings never materialised and officials were failing to implement decisions.
“We’ve been postponing matters here to say, let them come to our next meeting, but those matters never come.
“For instance, we’re going to resolve here that a report must come, but that report will never come.
“And again, the fingers are being pointed at the same officials who are heading these directorates.
“Who is fooling whom? Are we fools as councillors because we keep on taking decisions as this committee and those decisions are not implemented?” Namette said.
Engelbrecht said that, in preparation for the Mpac meeting, the secretariat had informed him that he had not received any communication from the implicated officials.
Pressed if Ngoqo had written to the officials, Jackson said there was no proof yet.
“There is no evidence on my side that there was written correspondence.
“So far, I do not have proof that a letter was written. I do not have the letter with me currently,” Ngcelwane said.
EFF councillor and budget and treasury political head Khanya Ngqisha, who had joined the meeting, said it was unfortunate that Ngoqo was not present to answer for himself.
“He’s the one who’s supposed to give us an answer in relation to the letter that was meant to be written as per the resolution of the committee.
Namette said he took exception to instructions not being implemented.
“I’m saying this issue cannot just be let go.
“We need to take this matter to council to say we can’t keep on making recommendations.
“We sit in this meeting for the whole day, and our recommendations are not taken seriously.”
Peter said ANC councillors who sat on the committee had been vilified for their failure in dealing with the metro’s R30bn UIFWE.
“We defend ourselves to say it’s not us delaying progress. It is the officials.
“What is happening now is vindicating us.”
Peter said no action should be taken against any officials without first dealing with the acting city manager for failing to implement an instruction.
“When we write to the council, we report the acting city manager because he is delaying the committee.
“We are not going to take uninformed decisions, and then tomorrow we will not be able to explain.
“It’s not a coincidence that Ngoqo is not here. Ngoqo knew there was a meeting today.”
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