{
  "id": 3365119,
  "title": "UNCOOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE: Nelson Mandela Bay opposition accuses coalition of U-turn on R23bn UIFWE write-off",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/uncooperative-governance-nelson-mandela-bay-opposition-accuses",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-25T22:42:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-26-nelson-mandela-bay-opposition-accuses-coalition-of-u-turn-on-r23bn-uifwe-write-off/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Opposition parties in Nelson Mandela Bay accuse the ruling coalition of hypocrisy after being forced to back down on a R23 billion UIFWE write-off. The ACDP's Luxolo Namette and Mayor Babalwa Lobishe were criticized for allegedly U-turning on their support for the unauthorised and wasteful expenditure write-off without conducting an item-by-item investigation. The clarification came from National Treasury's deputy director-general for intergovernmental relations, Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, who deemed the council's proposed blanket write-off unlawful and against the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). The coalition government faced warnings from Treasury and National Treasury, leading to the postponement of a council meeting and rescheduling for later. Opposition leader Lance Grootboom accused Namette and Lobishe of using political arrogance to mislead the public, while Namette defended the process of assessing each UIFWE item before recommending any council action.",
  "summary": "Opposition parties accuse Nelson Mandela Bay’s ruling coalition of hypocrisy after National Treasury forced it to backtrack on a R23-billion UIFWE write-off.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}