Pray the News
City Manager raises concern over poor capital budget expenditure –
The Herald, 26 May 2025

Background
With just a month until the 2024/2025 financial year ends, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is under pressure to spend its capital budget, which sat at 33% by the end of March. This amounts to R625m spent from the R1913bn in the capital budget. Acting City Manager Ted Pillay wrote to senior officials, including Chief Financial Officer Jackson Ngelwane, Chief Acting Operations Officer Lonwabo Ngoqo, executive directors, and the Mayor on May 12 to express his concerns about the issue.  In the memo, Pillay said the poor capital budget expenditure had been flagged in previous financial years, especially the third quarter. Pillay said it was difficult to justify the reason for their jobs to residents when the Metro continued to lose grant funding meant for service delivery. This requires urgent action to improve the situation for as long as the actions remain within the legal framework. Assessing the situation, Pillay said the reasons for failure were rigid internal processes.

People to pray for:
Ted Pillay – Acting City Manager
Jackson Ngelwane - Chief Financial Officer
Lonwabo Ngoqo - Acting Chief Operations Officer

Prayer Pointers
Pray for Wisdom and Discernment for Leadership
Ask God to grant the Acting City Manager, Ted Pillay, Chief Financial Officer Jackson Ngelwane, Acting Chief Operations Officer Lonwabo Ngoqo, executive directors, the Mayor, and other officials wisdom to address rigid internal processes and make sound decisions for effective budget expenditure.
Scripture: James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." 
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we lift up the leaders of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Grant them Your divine wisdom to streamline processes, prioritize projects, and utilize resources effectively to serve the community, as You generously provide wisdom to those who seek it.

Pray for Integrity and Accountability
Pray that the municipality’s leaders act with integrity, ensuring funds are used transparently and for the intended purpose of uplifting marginalized communities, avoiding wasteful expenditure.
Scripture: Proverbs 11:3 - "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them."
Prayer: Lord, instill integrity in the hearts of those managing the municipality’s finances. May they act with honesty and accountability, ensuring every rand is used to glorify You by serving the people and preventing the loss of vital grants.

Pray for Efficient Systems and Processes
Intercede for the removal of bureaucratic obstacles and rigid processes that hinder the timely execution of projects, asking God to inspire innovative solutions for better service delivery.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:33 - "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace."
Prayer: God of order, we ask You to bring clarity and efficiency to the municipality’s internal processes. Remove obstacles that delay service delivery and inspire solutions that enable the effective use of the capital budget for the good of the community.

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