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AIM Asks Minister To Intervene In Bay Ethics Investigation Fiasco

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Dear Editor

Abantu Integrity Movement (AIM) has written to the Minister of Cogta, Velenkosini Hlabisa, requesting him to intervene in the stalled ethics investigation against Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Gary van Niekerk.

Van Niekerk is under investigation for allegedly violating the Code of Conduct for Councillors, but a council ethics committee which was tasked in November 2023 to conclude the investigation in a month has still not completed its work a year after it was established.

In its letter to Minister Hlabisa AIM blames the Speaker of Council, Eugene Johnson, and the MEC for Cogta, Zolile Williams, for failing to treat the matter “with the diligence and sense of urgency it deserves”.

AIM contends that both the Speaker and MEC have failed to use the authority of their offices to expedite the stalled proceedings because they seem to be prioritising party political interests over the fight against fraud, corruption and maladministration in the municipality.

Van Niekerk, who is part of the governing coalition along with the Speaker, is accused of breaching the code of conduct by appointing a law firm in the name of the municipality after his seat as a councillor had been declared vacant by the municipality following his expulsion from his own party.

The Hawks and Public Protector are also pursuing related investigations against Van Niekerk.

“The ethics committee was tasked to report back to Council in December 2023.
“Today, a year later, the committee has still not tabled its report in Council.

“Any reasonable person would ask why it would take the committee a year to make its determination when all the role players and all the information required to progress the investigation are immediately accessible within the municipal precinct.

“The investigation cannot be allowed to drag on forever while the mayor who is accused of serious criminal wrongdoing carries on with business as usual,” AIM wrote in its letter to the Minister.

They further contend that the political leadership at both the municipal and provincial spheres has failed the residents and business community of Nelson Mandela Bay.

“Instead of diligence and a sense of urgency that would be expected from public representatives who believe in zero tolerance for fraud and corruption what we have witnessed over the past year is an obvious attempt by some councillors from the governing coalition to frustrate or even sabotage the investigation by either boycotting committee meetings or squabbling over the chairmanship,” AIM wrote.

Said AIM spokesperson Mandla Tyala: “We will not sit back and watch a simple and straightforward ethics investigation crawl into the second year of its life, or even worse to be swept under the carpet, simply because some actors in the governing coalition are determined to use their superior numbers in Council to stand on the side of fraud and corruption by shielding their comrade from accountability.

“We shall continue to raise this matter at the highest level in government until it is formally concluded.”

Regards

Abuntu Integrity Movement (AIM)

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