Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Mayor Gary Van Niekerk. Photo: Lulama Zenzile
- The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro held its first council meeting with the newly elected mayor, Gary van Niekerk, at the helm on Wednesday.
- Van Niekerk was announcing his plans for his first 100 days in office.
- GOOD, however, told the new mayor not to get too comfortable in his job.
A GOOD councillor in the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Metro ripped into newly elected mayor, Gary van Niekerk, on Wednesday telling him not to worry about his next 100 days in office because he “won’t even be here in 30 days.”
Lawrence Troon practically stole the show during a full sitting of the NMB council when he alluded to the fact that Van Niekerk’s days in office were numbered.
Van Niekerk, president of the Northern Alliance (NA), was announcing his plans for his first 100 days in office when Troon started criticising him.
“It is just a matter of time before he is out,” Troon said.
Troon went on to explain that the leader of the NA had to serve a term of two years, and since Van Niekerk was elected in March 2021, a conference was supposed to be held in March this year already.
Troon claims that Van Niekerk found a way to have the conference postponed for another six months because he was afraid that his party’s branches might vote him out.
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“There has been infighting with him and members of his party and they can see that he has no leadership skills. His personal life is also falling apart. If he is voted out as leader of his party, he can no longer be mayor,” Troon snapped.
He added that GOOD was not interested in what Van Niekerk had to say about his plans for the metro because it carried no weight.
Amid thunderous laughter from the floor, Troon said:
You don’t have to worry about the 100 days because you won’t even be here in 30 days.
Troon also refused to address Van Niekerk as mayor instead addressing ANC councillor Buyelwa Mafaya as the “the real mayor”.
Hitting back, Van Niekerk said Troon’s claims were “utter nonsense” and referred to the constitution of the NA.
The mayor explained that the highest decision-making body between conferences was the party’s federal executive committee (FEC).
“At a meeting of the full FEC it was decided that our conference be postponed. Why councillor Troon is concerned about what is going on in the NA when he is a member of the GOOD party, is beyond me,” he said.
He criticised Troon for “seeking relevance”.
“Nobody pays attention to him and he is seeking relevance using my name. What is better than to try and smear the name of the president of another party, who also happens to be the executive mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay?”
Van Niekerk added that Troon’s comments were always below the belt.
“This is not why we are here. You are in council to represent your community,” Van Niekerk said.
Regarding his 100-day plan, Van Niekerk said job creation, curbing vandalism and crime and addressing infrastructure challenges were top on his list of priorities.
He said a critical goal was to create more than 100 jobs for the youth in the trade and export industry during the first 100 days.
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Focus will also be placed on curbing vandalism, which has been rife in the metro, especially since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
According to Van Niekerk, the city’s R300 million CCTV system that was installed during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, is in disuse while criminals are running rampant.
“I have tasked the city manager and chief financial officer to identify a budget in order for us to appoint a contractor to get that system up and running again.
“We will refurbish the control room as the first priority by 4 July, [and install] 200 cameras per month in the first 100 days, which accounts for 50%. All our cameras can be operational by Christmas,” the mayor said.
Van Niekerk added that shotspotter technology that has been operating only in the gang-infested Helenvale area will be rolled out to other areas to monitor shooting activities.
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Gary van Niekerk, during the council meeting on Wednesday.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Council meeting sits on Wednesday.
The first three months will also see the establishment of “Operation GatVol”, which will zoom into the pothole problem in the metro.
The aim is to fill 5 600 potholes, which is 56 potholes a day.
Road markings, 300 speed humps and 360 stop signs will also be painted.
Nondumiso Qwazi from the EFF, warned Van Niekerk that the party would hold him accountable for what he says.
“Remember that we are not friends. We are friends with people on the ground who require services,” Qwazi told the mayor.
“We also just want to give the mayor a kind warning: As you move forward with your plan, always check behind you to see if your mayoral committee is still behind you,” he said.
Van Niekerk emphasised that he is very much confident in his coalition government and does not need to watch what happens with his mayoral committee.
“Everybody has my back and we are sticking together,” he said.