The Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk has been suspended.
Image: Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk NMB/Facebook
The deputy mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape, Gary van Niekerk has been suspended.
This comes after a vote of no confidence was done during a council sitting on Thursday, December 12.
His suspension was put to a vote in council and 56 voted for and 46 against.
The Executive Mayor, Babalwa Lubishe confirmed the suspension to the media on Thursday.
“The council has taken a decision to set aside the Deputy Mayor so that council work can continue. Remember there are functions that are delegated to his office and we are not going to continue as if nothing has happened – it’s going to hamper some of the functions allocated to him as well. We have started a process as the same council referred his matter to the MEC for COGTA,” she told the SABC.
Lubishe said all due processes had to be followed to suspend van Niekerk.
Hours before van Niekerk was suspended, he appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on four charges, including cyber fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
Van Niekerk is alleged to have hired legal counsel from a law firm in 2022 when his seat in the council was declared vacant by the now-suspended city manager Noxolo Nqwazi.
He racked up a legal bill of more than R551,586.
It is alleged that the law firm was not on the municipality’s panel of attorneys at the time.
The matter against van Niekerk has been postponed until January 15, 2025, for further investigation.
For now, van Niekerk remains a councillor.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL
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