South Africa: Deputy Mayor Calls Out Mayor Over 'Governance Failures' and 'Inaction' in NMB

5 July 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Kyran Blaauw and Andisa Bonani

In a stinging letter, NMB's deputy mayor, Gary van Niekerk, has accused Mayor Babalwa Lobishe of hindering vital service delivery initiatives.

Cracks in Nelson Mandela Bay's coalition government are widening amid allegations of "inaction and governance failures", with Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk accusing Mayor Babalwa Lobishe of derailing a service delivery rescue and turnaround plan that he says had secured the support of senior city officials.

In a letter dated Thursday, 2 July, to the Eastern Cape cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC, Zolile Williams, ahead of a planned provincial intervention in the municipality, Van Niekerk said the oversight process should examine not only the metro's deteriorating performance but also the political barriers preventing practical service delivery initiatives from being implemented.

Van Niekerk said he had accepted the role of deputy executive mayor with a commitment to serving residents "with integrity, transparency and dedication" and had supported Lobishe's leadership in the interests of political stability, even when they disagreed.

Read more Civil society leadership protest demands accountability in Nelson Mandela Bay May 28, 2026 Van Niekerk served as executive mayor, with Lobishe as his deputy, from May 2023 until October. In October 2024, both resigned, only to be re-elected shortly afterwards with their roles reversed -- Lobishe as executive mayor and Van Niekerk as deputy mayor....

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