It’s not clear whether the National Alliance’s (NA) Gary van Niekerk is still the mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro in the Eastern Cape.
City Manager, Noxolo Nqwazi, has declared vacancies in council to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) van Niekerk’s position and his party member, Stag Mitchell.
Nqwazi, who is also facing possible suspension during a council meeting scheduled for Thursday, declared the vacancies after the High Court in Gqeberha ruled in favour of the National Alliance’s deputy president, Bevan Brown, to have the two councillors hauled before the party’s disciplinary hearing.
Van Niekerk and Mitchell filed urgent court papers to halt their appearance before a disciplinary committee for allegedly bringing the party into disrepute.
They were subsequently expelled in absentia. Last week, the court ruled against the councillors’ application.
Brown says van Niekerk and Mitchell are no longer NA councillors.
“We need to now wait for the processes to be followed. So, the process is that the city manager has declared the vacancies to the IEC and further to that, our resolution from our congress is that we need to have the authorised persons changed at the IEC. Those processes are now being put in place. Once the PR lists are being changed with our new candidates going in, then the new incoming councilors will take their seats in council.”
Van Niekerk affirms position
Meanwhile, Van Niekerk maintains that he is still a member of the National Alliance.
“I’m still the president of the National Alliance and I’m still very much the executive mayor of the Nelson Mandela Municipality. The shenanigans of the city manager are detrimental to the city, but unfortunately, this is how the city manager has operated ever since I have been in council. This is not the first time she has done this, and we know how that ended. The city manager is obviously doing what she can to ensure that she doesn’t face disciplinary action.”
In June, van Niekerk still maintained his position as party president, despite being voted out during an elective conference.
Van Niekerk alleged that a petition calling for the conference was signed by members who are not in good standing and that in some instances, signatures were duplicated and forged.
This as the conference saw a parallel structure to elect a new party president.
More details in the report below:
