Council meeting in Nelson Mandela Bay to debate no-confidence motion in mayor cancelled

A planned special council meeting in Nelson Mandela Bay, scheduled to debate a motion of no confidence against the Democratic Alliance‘s (DA) Mayor Retief Odendaal, has been called off.

Councillors from the metro were set to meet on Monday to discuss the fate of Odendaal, his deputy Mkhuseli Jack, and chief whip Bill Harington. However, the meeting was cancelled by council speaker Gary van Niekerk due to an urgent court application filed by the mayor at the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha.

Nelson Mandela Bay

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) petitioned for the motion against the trio alleging that the DA failed to deliver services to the residents in Nelson Mandela Bay. The Northern Alliance, African National Congress (ANC), Patriotic Alliance (PA), and other parties supported the move.

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Odendaal was elected the mayor of the municipality in September last year, after former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, ANC councillor Eugene Johnson, was booted out of office.

Van Niekerk said Monday’s council meeting aimed at ousting the DA-led coalition government was postponed due to Odendaal’s urgent legal action.

He said the mayor’s legal team submitted their court documents on Sunday, and as a result, they worked late to prepare for the hearing.

Interdict application

The high court is expected to hear Odendaal’s urgent court application on Monday. He argues that the process followed to table the no-confidence motion against him, his deputy, and the chief whip was procedurally flawed.

In his court papers, Odendaal wants the court to interdict Van Niekerk from permitting any motions of no confidence against them. He also wants Van Niekerk to pay the costs of the application, including the costs of two counsel. 

However, Van Niekerk maintains that all the necessary procedures for convening Monday’s council meeting and the petition for the motion of no confidence were adhered to.

“When a motion is brought to council in terms of the rules of order… it states that it should be brought by a councillor, which was done in this case.

“It must be dated and signed and it must be signed by the councillors… it is my view that the motion is a legal and a competent motion,” he told SABC News.

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