Rowdy Nelson Mandela Bay council meeting adjourned

As two councillors almost came to blows on Tuesday, a council meeting meant to vote on a motion to remove Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Gary van Niekerk was dramatically adjourned.

EFF councillor Khanya Ngqisha and GOOD councillor Lawrence Troon had heated words in front of the microphone, forcing others to separate them.

They stood shouting at each other while other councillors kept pushing them further away from each other. They then started to point fingers at each other.

This prompted speaker Eugene Johnson to adjourn the meeting, with councillors quickly leaving the Tramways Building.

The GOOD party’s motion was filed in January.

In the motion, Troon lambasted Van Niekerk for service delivery failings under his leadership, saying his tenure had been characterised by incompetence.

During the meeting, Troon said Van Niekerk had damaged rented and municipal vehicles during weekends.

He was interrupted by Johnson, but Troon shouted back that he would read his motion in full. “He went to China without the [proper authority]. [The] National Treasury wants to take back R500m.

“He promised load-shedding would be sorted out in two weeks but it has been 10 months. He promised that potholes would be fixed by December 24. He has no clue how to run a municipality.”

Troon said Van Niekerk should never have been mayor.

Raising his voice, Troon said, “[ANC regional deputy chair Siphiwo] Tshaka told us he is an embarrassment.”

This led to several ANC councillors shouting at Troon, while others laughed  at the remark.

Afterwards, Van Niekerk said opposition parties would just keep bringing motions that would be defeated.

“Their motions have no basis. We actually encourage them to bring more motions because it only serves one purpose.

“If you listen to all the comments, parties that spoke from our coalition will vote against the motion.

“They’ve said they won’t support [the motion]. It is irrelevant,” he said.

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