While the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (NMBM) is reeling under poor service delivery, crumbling infrastructure and crime, its Mayor, Gary van Niekerk, and other high-ranking officials are gallivanting around the globe with the Metro’s emergency funds.
Van Niekerk has travelled overseas three times in the last few months.
He is also set to accompany the Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, to the city of Ningbo in China from 24 to 31 August. The reason for the visit is that there is reportedly already an agreement in place between the city and the NMBM.
According to a report tabled to the Mayoral Committee, there were 41 deviations in the spending of emergency funds.
One is the seven-day trip that Van Niekerk and his deputy, Balalwa Lobishe, undertook in June to attend the 2024 Maritime Silk Road Port Co-operation Forum in Ningbo.
According to the report, this trip cost R409 231.
Another such deviation is the recent trip to Florida by the political head of Infrastructure and Engineering, Khanya Ngqisha, accompanied by four other officials.
This trip allegedly cost R831 996.
The FF Plus could find no justification for taking these overseas trips using emergency funds.
If the NMBM had benefited from these overseas trips in any way, the related expenses could still be justified, but what is happening here is that officials are taking vacations paid for by tax money.
The FF Plus insists that these abuses should be thoroughly investigated, and if funds were unlawfully spent, the money should be recovered from the respective officials.
Action must be taken against municipal officials who misappropriate residents’ tax money.
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