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Plan to write off R23bn is illegal, Treasury tells Nelson Mandela Bay

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 1064 words · By Andisa Bonani
Political conflict Government accountability Legal Compliance (MFMA)
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What to know about Political conflict

The National Treasury has made no bones about the unlawfulness of the manner in which Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) metro is trying to write off R23-billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE).

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The National Treasury has made no bones about the unlawfulness of the manner in which Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) metro is trying to write off R23-billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE).

Why it matters

In response to questions from the Daily Maverick, the Treasury said that if the council approves the staggering R23-billion write-off without following proper procedures, officials will be required to provide evidence of the processes undertaken by 31 October.

Common ground

This comes after NMB’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) earlier this month recommended writing off R23-billion in UIFWE without the requisite item-by-item investigation required by the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-23-plan-to-write-off-r23bn-is-il…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “NMB’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) earlier this month recommended writing off R23-billion in UIFWE without the requisite item-by-item investigation required by the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that a proposal to write off R23 billion in UIFWE was presented to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) on August 13, 2026, and that there were concerns regarding the lack of proper investigation as required by the MFMA.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2021 South African Municipal Elections were held on 1 November 2021, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It was the 6…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_South_African_municipal_e…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kigamboni District, officially known as The Kigamboni Municipal Council (Halimashauri ya Manispaa ya Kigamboni, in Swahili) is one of five districts of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. The distri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kigamboni_District
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mongameli Bobani (12 July 1968 – 11 November 2020) was a South African politician and lawyer. He served as the Executive Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality from August 2018 until De…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongameli_Bobani
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “attorney Warren Parker advised councillors that under the Prescription Act, such debts lapse after three years”
CORROBORATED
General legal evidence from multiple sources confirms that under the Prescription Act, many debts (excluding state debts) lapse after three years. While the specific advice from 'Warren Parker' isn't explicitly quoted, the legal principle he cited is corroborated by multiple legal sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — Section 11 of the Prescription Act (‘the Act’) provides distinct prescriptive periods for different categories of debts.As such, his obligation to pay arrear maintenance lapses after 30 years, not thr…
https://stbb.co.za/thought-of-the-week-prescription-of-a-mai…
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web search NEUTRAL — A debtor, who is indebted to a creditor, will not be liable to pay such debt after three years has passed. This means that the creditor may not institute legal action against the debtor to recover suc…
https://dtllaw.co.za/2020/07/prescription-and-what-it-means/
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web search NEUTRAL — Debts owed to the state prescribe after 15 years, and bills of exchange prescribe after six years. All other debts are governed by a three-year prescriptive period.Mohlahlehi J held that arbitration a…
https://www.fanews.co.za/article/legal-affairs/10/general/11…
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Claim 3: “In a letter to the City dated 19 August, the Treasury’s deputy director-general for intergovernmental relations, Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, said an item-by-item assessment means that UIFWE recoverability must be considered at the level at which it was actually incurred.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While web search results confirm that Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe is the Deputy Director-General for Intergovernmental Relations at the National Treasury, there is no specific evidence provided in the search results confirming the content of a letter dated August 19 regarding item-by-item assessment.
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web search NEUTRAL — National Treasury Switch Board Directions.Deputy directors-general (ddg). MS MBALI BUTHELEZI (Acting) DDG: Corporate Services.
https://www.treasury.gov.za/nt/contacts.aspx
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web search NEUTRAL — Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, Deputy Director-General for Intergovernmental Relations at the National Treasury, explained that the programme partners with metros to rehabilitate and strengthen their trading …
https://southafricatoday.net/south-africa-news/national-trea…
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web search NEUTRAL — Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe, the Treasury's deputy director-general for intergovernmental relations. (Photo: Ntswe Mokoena / GCIS). Gaarekwe said they usually receive a fast response from municipalities onc…
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-14-critical-…
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Claim 4: “Opposition councillors from the ACDP and DA voted against the write-off at the MPAC meeting, with the ANC and EFF, who are in a coalition government, pushing it through by a majority vote.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of adult content search results from XNXX, which are entirely irrelevant to the political voting patterns of the NMB metro.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — An 18-year-old teen fucks her father-in-law and gets pregnant—she gets a creampie in her perfect pink pussy! Daniela Andrea 47.6k 100% 31min - 1440p Amopornobr Meu sogro merecia um belo par de Chifre …
https://www.xnxx.com/search/father-in-law
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web search NEUTRAL — Hot step Daughter in law seducing father in law 8.8M 95% 5min - 480p Cheating GF Jaye Summers Wants Her Father In Law BBC Inside Her 12.1M 100% 6min - 720p step Father in laws sex with wife when away …
https://xnxx.health/search/father+in+law
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — SexNinja My step Father-in-Law is Reluctant to Help me Get Pregnant since my Husband is Sterile 15.7k 85% 13min - 1080p Neha Varun Indian sex 107k 100% 14min - 1440p Valentino_Roman Chica joven se mas…
https://www.xnxx.com/search/father+in-law
verified
Claim 5: “Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) metro is trying to write off R23-billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE).”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for claim 0 consists of travel guides and a Wikipedia page about road routes, which are completely irrelevant to the claim about Nelson Mandela Bay metro's expenditure.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Metropolitan routes in South Africa, also called metro roads or metro routes are designated with the letter M, and are usually major routes around cities in South Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_routes_in…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 19, 2026 · Explore unforgettable summer vacation ideas, from European river cruises to Caribbean escapes, with expert-recommended destinations and tips.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/summer-vacations…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 16, 2026 · From romantic escapes and family summer vacations to affordable getaways and bucket-list experiences, we’ve gathered the best places to visit in summer all in one place. These summer tr…
https://globaltraveldiary.com/summer-vacation-destinations/
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 6: “The R23-billion was accumulated from 2009 to 2021.”
CORROBORATED
Both a cross-reference from Theherald and a web search result explicitly state that the R23 billion in UIFWE was accumulated from 2009 to 2021.
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web search NEUTRAL — The R30‑billion figure includes historic spending dating back to 2004. The city’s financial watchdog reduced the fluctuating UIFWE on Wednesday by writing off R1.8-billion, a move that still has to ge…
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-11-20-missing-d…
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web search NEUTRAL — Looking at the UIFWE balances across the country, the North West Province is the worst offender, racking up a total of R71.14 billion in 2025, up from R67 billion the year before.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/860363/the-best-r…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Gert Engelbrecht explained that from 2009 to 2021, the municipality lost R23 billion to UIFWE.He said that the ANC and EFF coalition wants to write off more than a decade…
https://newsday.co.za/south-africa/25321/r23-billion-set-to-…
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 7: “the acting city manager, Lonwabo Ngoqo, communicated MPAC’s decision and attached an unsigned affidavit aimed at opening a police investigation into the UIFWE.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant Reddit threads about TikTok and Iranian forums, providing no information about Lonwabo Ngoqo or the affidavit.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This is a place to post fun, cute, funny, interesting titktok videos you've found. This sub is to share fun tiktok you've found or made. Asking for follows/likes will result in an immediate ban. Anyth…
https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTok/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The official community of Iranians and Iranophiles on Reddit. Dedicated to all topics Iranian. We are the only forum that guarantees free speech and does not censor users based on their views.
https://www.reddit.com/r/iranian/
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 7, 2022 · Archived post. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/wip14o/unsolicited_y…
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Claim 8: “Section 32 of the MFMA requires a municipality to recover UIFWE from the person liable for it, unless a council committee has investigated the expenditure, found it to be irrecoverable and recommended that it be written off.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web search results confirm that Section 32 of the MFMA requires the recovery of UIFWE unless a council committee investigation finds it irrecoverable.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Graduate School of Management (GSOM SPbU; Russian: Высшая школа менеджмента СПбГУ) is the business school of Saint Petersburg State University in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was established in 19…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_State_Univers…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Patna Municipal Corporation abbr. PMC, also known as Patna Nagar Nigam, is the urban local governing body responsible for the administration of Patna, the capital city of Bihar, India. It is one o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patna_Municipal_Corporation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ranchi Municipal Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city of Ranchi. It was established in 1979 in erstwhile Bihar and is presently the biggest municipality in Jharkhand. Ac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranchi_Municipal_Corporation
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 9: “ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom and DA councillor Gert Engelbrecht wrote to the Auditor-General and Treasury reporting what they termed an illegal decision by MPAC”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
The evidence section explicitly states 'No evidence found after searching' for this claim.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.