More ‘truth’ from NMB deputy mayor Gary Van Niekerk in lead-up to council meeting

With a council meeting scheduled for 10 November, when Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk’s future as a city official will almost undoubtedly come under the spotlight again, he continued to share “The Truth” about events in the municipality on social media.

Van Niekerk faces fraud charges and is accused of contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), dating back to 2022, for allegedly racking up legal bills of more than R570,000 without authorisation. He was also convicted of contempt of court for missing a previous court date, and fined R2,000. His trial on the fraud and MFMA-related charges is scheduled for May 2026. 

On Friday, in the latest edition of his online “publication”, recounting events from two years ago, he claimed to have been misquoted in the media, publicly ambushed by coalition partners, and made to look like a mayor full of empty promises who could not even deliver on an undertaking to fix potholes in Nelson Mandela Bay. Van Niekerk, while now the deputy mayor,  previously served as the metro’s mayor from May 2023 to October 2024.

“This is not just a story of roadworks, but a candid look at the high-stakes, and often brutal, nature of coalition politics in the Bay,” Van Niekerk said in the online article, posted on his personal Facebook page.

Since last week, the deputy mayor has published a series of articles wherein he claims to be setting the record straight about several issues that landed him in hot water in recent years.

Read more: Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk gives readers (his version of) The Truth

While the first posts dealt with his criminal trial in the city’s Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, the more recent edition of The Truth was his account of a promise he claims he never made, and backstabbing that left him with egg on his face.

Potholes

On 6 December 2023, then executive mayor Van Niekerk launched an ambitious road maintenance campaign in Kabega Park. According to The Herald, Van Niekerk vowed that all potholes on major routes throughout Nelson Mandela Bay would be repaired by Christmas Eve.

At the time, 14,000 potholes were officially logged on the municipality’s system. R500,000 was pledged to each ward, totalling R30-million.

However, during a council meeting the following day, then MMC for Road and Transport Bradley Murray called a point of order and publicly distanced his department from Van Niekerk’s bold promise.  

The number of potholes in the city did shrink, but by Christmas, there were still about 9,000 potholes on record.

Now, Van Niekerk claims his campaign was to “fix the majority of potholes”, but the media misquoted him in saying “all potholes in Nelson Mandela Bay” would be repaired.

“It is this critical misquote, the Deputy Mayor contends, that laid the groundwork for the subsequent political fallout,” he said on Facebook.

He further said that his reaction to Murray’s blindsiding him in council on 7 December 2023 was “visceral understanding rather than anger” as Murray quietly offered him an apology, telling Van Niekerk: ‘Sorry bra’, after distancing himself from the mayor’s pothole promises.

Van Niekerk said he felt the “sting of public embarrassment”, but felt sorry for Murray as he believed the MMC acted on instructions from his political superiors.

Ultimately, “Operation Gatvol” faded and the promise of eradicating potholes with it.

The NMB council is expected to meet on Monday, when several crucial issues will be discussed. The question of Van Niekerk’s position as deputy mayor after he was found guilty on a charge of being in contempt of court, should also feature.

Read more: DA accuses ANC speaker of protecting Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk

At a council meeting last month, DA councillor Morné Steyn wanted to bring a motion that Cooperative Governance MEC Zolile Williams should be consulted after Van Niekerk’s conviction.

However, council speaker Eugene Johnson blocked all motions on that day, raising many eyebrows. 

She subsequently wrote a letter to Williams, attaching Steyn’s proposed motion.

Attempts to reach Williams for comment were unsuccessful. DM