Nelson Mandela Bay municipality Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk says his ‘efforts to implement meaningful service delivery programmes have been consistently obstructed by the Executive Mayor, Councillor Babalwa Lobishe. (Photo: Lulama Zenzile / Gallo Images / Die Burger) Cracks in Nelson Mandela Bay’s coalition government are widening amid allegations of “inaction and governance failures”, with Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk accusing Mayor Babalwa Lobishe of derailing a service delivery rescue and turnaround plan that he says had secured the support of senior city officials.
In a letter dated Thursday, 2 July, to the Eastern Cape cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC, Zolile Williams, ahead of a planned provincial intervention in the municipality, Van Niekerk said the oversight process should examine not only the metro’s deteriorating performance but also the political barriers preventing practical service delivery initiatives from being implemented.
Van Niekerk said he had accepted the role of deputy executive mayor with a commitment to serving residents “with integrity, transparency and dedication” and had supported Lobishe’s leadership in the interests of political stability, even when they disagreed.
Van Niekerk served as executive mayor, with Lobishe as his deputy, from May 2023 until October. In October 2024, both resigned, only to be re-elected shortly afterwards with their roles reversed — Lobishe as executive mayor and Van Niekerk as deputy mayor.
He said he had remained patient after being assured he would have greater opportunities to contribute to the municipality’s strategic direction and service delivery programmes.
“Regrettably, this has not materialised,” he wrote.
At the centre of Van Niekerk’s concerns is a rapid turnaround strategy, which he said was developed with senior municipal officials to rehabilitate the metro’s 100 priority roads through pothole repairs, road markings, street lighting restoration, illegal dumping removal, grass cutting and verge maintenance.
Van Niekerk said the programme had the support of executive directors, was aligned with the municipality’s operational budget and was ready for implementation.
“The rapid turnaround strategy was therefore not simply a proposal. It was a practical, implementation-ready programme supported by the administration, aligned with the approved operational budget and designed to deliver immediate and visible improvements across Nelson Mandela Bay,” he wrote.
/file/attachments/2985/Babalwa_530406_682997.jpg "Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe. (Photo: Andisa Bonani)")
In his letter to Williams, Van Niekerk described the loading of the municipality’s operational budget on Wednesday, 1 July, as a major administrative achievement, saying it was the first time in years that departments could begin implementing programmes immediately at the start of the financial year.
Van Niekerk said that despite those preparations, the turnaround strategy never got off the ground.
“I must respectfully place on record that my efforts to implement meaningful service delivery programmes have been consistently obstructed by the Executive Mayor, Councillor Babalwa Lobishe,” he wrote.
Van Niekerk wrote that repeated attempts to secure approval for the strategy were unsuccessful, leaving his ability to perform his duties as deputy executive mayor “significantly constrained”.
“It is deeply concerning that programmes specifically designed to improve the daily lives of our residents have repeatedly failed to receive the political support necessary for implementation,” wrote Van Niekerk.
“The consequence is that our communities continue to experience deteriorating roads, failing infrastructure, poor service delivery and declining public confidence, despite practical solutions having been developed, supported by the administration and ready for execution.”
Loyalty
Van Niekerk said he had reached a point where remaining silent would amount to failing in his constitutional responsibility to residents.
“My loyalty has always been to the institution of local government and, above all else, to the residents whom we were elected to serve.”
He said he was formally distancing himself from “decisions, inaction and governance failures” that continued to undermine the municipality.
This is not the first time Van Niekerk has been at odds with his fellow city and political officials.
Van Niekerk is charged with cyberfraud and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act related to a legal bill of more than R550,000 that he racked up in 2022.
He has used his pending trial as a platform to accuse several other officials, including former mayors Eugene Johnson and Retief Odendaal, as well as the city’s former chief financial officer Selwyn Thys, of corruption.
He is due back in court later this month.
On Saturday, Van Niekerk said he had asked Lobishe for a meeting to discuss the turnaround strategy but the meeting never took place.
“The whole programme is now in limbo. She [the mayor] doesn’t want me to execute it. Elections are coming up, and I feel that politics should never take precedence over service delivery.
“There’s other things we can politick about, but people have been going through the most here in the metro. I’ve supported the mayor. I told her the reason why I’m doing this is to support her, but she doesn’t want it. So when [Cogta] comes for the oversight, they must know that I am not part of this nonsense that’s going on.
“I’m very disappointed in the attitude of the executive mayor, but I can’t be party to this where it’s politics first and service delivery second,” said Van Niekerk.
He also praised municipal officials for embracing the turnaround strategy, saying many had worked overtime to prepare implementation plans.
“The teams want to work. I think where we go wrong is that we have this ... especially the mayor, that is, she wants to fight with officials. I don’t want to fight with officials,” he said.
According to Van Niekerk, some work had already started before the programme stalled.
“We were supposed to be so far with this thing already. A couple of streets would have been done by now already: the filling of potholes and the clean-ups and the lighting. Now there’s just nothing. Some directorates are just sitting back and waiting for instructions. Now there’s just confusion.”
Challenges
Back to Van Niekerk’s letter. He wrote that it was not his intention to “assign blame or deepen political divisions. Rather, it is submitted in the sincere hope that the Provincial Government will gain a fuller appreciation of the institutional and political challenges that continue to impede meaningful service delivery and organisational recovery within Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Furthermore, I respectfully request that consideration be given not only to the current state of the Municipality, but also to the institutional and political barriers that continue to prevent capable office-bearers and dedicated municipal officials from implementing practical service delivery interventions. Unless these underlying impediments are addressed, sustainable recovery will remain difficult regardless of the quality of the plans that are developed.”
MEC Williams said it was important for the coalition to work together for the betterment of the residents.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_512821_375638.jpg "Cogta MEC Zolile Williams said challenges within coalition governments will affect service delivery for the residents. (Photo: Lulama Zenzile / Gallo Images / Die Burger)")
“Obviously, if there are disagreements between coalition partners on how to implement their agreed strategies, if there was indeed an agreement, those disagreements will affect service delivery,” said Williams.
“Effectively, in a coalition, parties must attempt to work together in the interest of the residents of the city. In the situation of Nelson Mandela Bay, the Executive Mayor is expected to delegate some functions to her deputy so as to prevent role conflict. If there was no segregation, that would result in conflicts.”
Williams said his role as MEC does not involve management of relations between coalition parties.
“Such relations are the preserve of all parties that constitute the coalition.”
Lobishe failed to respond to questions about Van Niekerk’s letter and the allegations contained therein. DM