Suspended Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk is confident the criminal charges against him will be withdrawn.
In addition, he said he was eagerly awaiting news on whether his suspension would soon be lifted so he could continue with his upliftment projects in the northern areas.
However, before addressing members of the media outside the city’s Commercial Crimes Court on Friday, Van Niekerk’s lawyers received a tongue-lashing from the magistrate for not being ready to proceed with the matter, as was agreed at his previous court appearance.
Last month, Van Niekerk’s legal team indicated that they would be making certain representation to the court regarding the strength of the state’s case, however, the documents are yet to be submitted to the court.
Van Niekerk faces charges of cyber fraud and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) for allegedly racking up legal bills totalling R575,000 in 2022 without authorisation.
The state alleges he appointed legal firm Boqwana Burns Incorporated for various legal matters as the speaker of council in 2022, when he had already vacated the position.
It is further alleged that Boqwana Burns was not on the municipality’s list of approved legal service providers, and by appointing them, Van Niekerk allegedly attempted to circumvent the MFMA in the process.
He is also accused of soliciting a legal opinion from McWilliams and Elliott Incorporated, which cost R23,393.
While the firm was on the municipality’s list of service providers, the request for a legal opinion had been denied by then-acting city manager Selwyn Thys.
Van Niekerk has since been suspended from his position as deputy mayor, and is awaiting feedback from the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) which said it would probe the legitimacy of the suspension.
During court proceedings on Friday, senior state advocate Ken Cooney indicated that the defence was not ready to proceed and requested that the matter be postponed to next month to give Van Niekerk’s counsel a final opportunity to submit their representations.
Magistrate Khuselwa Majali grilled defence attorney Okuhle Jikela, of Danie Gouws Incorporated, on why they had not yet submitted the documents in question as agreed upon at the previous court appearance.
She said the representations needed to be submitted to the state and the director of public prosecutions timeously as they had to “apply their minds” before they could make a decision on how the matter would proceed.
Jikela indicated that the representations were close to being finalised, and the court postponed the matter to March 6.
Cooney said if the representations were not submitted on that date the state would ask that the matter proceed to trial.
Speaking outside the court after proceedings, Van Niekerk said he could not elaborate on court proceedings on advice from his attorney, Danie Gouws.
He said Gouws had been unwell recently and they had therefore had limited correspondence.
“I am confident that the charges against me will be withdrawn.
“This is not a criminal matter.
“It is a matter that should have been dealt with internally,” Van Niekerk said.
Asked about his suspension, he said he was eagerly awaiting feedback from Cogta, and once his suspension was lifted, he would continue with the community upliftment projects he started before his suspension, particularly in gang-ridden Helenvale, where he wants to improve the safety and living conditions.
“Once I am reinstated, I owe it to the people of Helenvale to make their neighbourhood liveable, and to make it a place they can be proud of.
“We need to make sure that it is secure and we need to stop these killings in my beloved Helenvale,” he said.
The Herald