Mayor Babalwa Lobishe faces intense scrutiny over a controversial R25m transformer lease, raising questions about governance and accountability as two ANC figures confront mounting allegations. Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe is under fire from her political party after a R25-million municipal transformer was leased to a private company — a deal that has now been sent to the high court for a judicial review. In a sharply worded letter, the ANC’s provincial leadership demanded that Lobishe explain the circumstances surrounding the lease, including steps taken to restore public confidence and measures to ensure proper governance of municipal assets.
“The ANC has taken note, with serious concern, of media reports alleging the removal of municipal property, specifically a transformer belonging to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, to a private company,” wrote provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi. “If proven, these allegations raise grave concerns regarding governance, accountability, and the protection of public assets entrusted to the municipality.” On Thursday, Lobishe said she had responded to the request but declined to comment further, stating that the matter was now before the court. “The transformer lease is in court [the judicial review], so I can’t speak on it.
Council deliberated and suggested that it goes to court, and therefore I can’t speak further on it. The judge will make a determination on the matter,” she said. Lobishe claimed that the transformer issue was being used in a smear campaign against her.
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“It’s a campaign period because the person who’s blowing this up is part of the smaller parties in council, and I’m sure he’s doing it to discredit me, which he won’t achieve because the ANC has its own way of assessing its candidates for the mayoral positions for 2026.” While Lobishe has not been formally charged, she is accused of irregularly leasing the transformer to a Nelson Mandela Bay company, Coega Steels, at R250,000 per month for a year. The transformer was initially procured to provide backup for the Swartkops and Greenbushes substations in the city.
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