Though the municipality seems to have no clear formal policy on when councillors should receive new cars for work, vehicle upgrades could be in the pipeline for senior Nelson Mandela Bay officials.
This is if a report requesting brand new vehicles for two troika members, deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk and council speaker Eugene Johnson, is approved in council.
For now, the two faced their first roadblock after councillors from the city’s roads and transport committee rejected the report, and instead wanted a mechanical report to be provided and technical reasons given on why both cars needed to be replaced.
A confidential report tabled before last week’s roads and transport committee revealed that the city had no formal policy in place on when vehicles for political office bearers could and should be replaced.
Instead, it leans on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act of 1998 — legislation that merely sets upper limits for allowances and requires a supporting council vote.
In February, the council shot down a proposal to buy new cars for mayor Babalwa Lobishe and council chief whip Wandisile Jikeka — which would have cost the city more than R2m in total.
When the report was first brought to the council, councillors demanded to see the technical report.
It was later approved.
Months later, a new Audi Q5 was bought for the mayor.
It is not yet clear which vehicles roads and transport is looking at buying for Johnson and Van Niekerk.
The Municipal Finance Management Act requires that such purchases comply with a strict financial threshold set out in cost-containment regulations.
It states that before a procurement for a new vehicle can be made, the accounting officer must first provide the council with the status of the current vehicle, the extent of service delivery backlogs and the options of new vehicles.
One of these rules states that vehicles for political office bearers may not cost more than R700,000 or 70% of their total annual remuneration, including VAT, depending on the municipality’s grade.
With both officials earning about R1.2m a year, they would therefore qualify for vehicles valued at just more than R800,000 each.
On Monday, Van Niekerk said his vehicle, also an Audi Q5, had been damaged in floods in 2024, resulting in mechanical problems.
“This was long submitted to the speaker,” he said.
“It was damaged in the floods and when it’s driven at a certain speed for a long time it just [switches off].
“It has been in for several repairs but the problem is still there.
“But the speaker is the one who handles the process for the care of councillors and any application for cars will come from her office.”
This would be the second time, of which The Herald is aware, that Van Niekerk would change his municipality-issued vehicle.
In 2023, during his time as mayor, his Audi Q5 was involved in an accident.
His close protection officer was involved in a collision while on his way to pick him up.
Johnson is being chauffeured in a VW T-Roc at present.
When contacted, she said she was not aware of the request.
“I have not seen the item, so I cannot comment on it,” she said.
“But I would think a request for a new car was made when I was using a rented vehicle because the one I am using was not working.
“I am using the car assigned to the speaker’s office now.”
Roads and transport political head Yolisa Pali said there was an urgency to purchase the new cars because of the high rental costs incurred when they broke down.
“The speaker’s car has been in for repairs many times and each time that means we have to rent,” Pali said.
“It is expensive, and we always have to explain the payments we make for rentals which are often exorbitant.
“At the moment, there is no budget but the aim is to try and find a budget to ensure that the cars are replaced.”
The cost containment rules state that before buying a vehicle, the accounting officer must provide the council with details that must be considered:
- A status report of current vehicles;
- Affordability options including whether to procure a vehicle or hire;
- Extent of service delivery backlogs; and
- Terrain for effective usage of the vehicle.
The report by roads and transport acting executive director Barry Martin said he needed to liaise with payroll to determine the current packages of the speaker and deputy mayor to calculate the correct prices of the vehicles as well as determine budget availability.
“The transversal contract for the procurement of vehicles is active and as soon as council resolves on the matter, Fleet Management services will source quotes in line with the thresholds and procure the vehicles,” Martin’s report read.
The report said formal requests were still needed from the directorates.
It recommended that a policy be developed for vehicle procurement and the requests be noted.
DA councillor Rano Kayser said they expected the reports at the next meeting before the requests were sent to council.
“We are not going to allow for any vehicle to be purchased for public representatives to have a smart ride on the streets,” he said.
“There must be mechanical evaluations done on the vehicles and provided to us.
“We also expect all due diligence to be done and be in line with the Remuneration Act.”
ACDP councillor Marianne Lotter said her party had always opposed the purchase of new luxury cars for the mayor, deputy mayor, speaker and whip.
“It makes no sense for leaders to cruise around in brand- new vehicles while residents struggle with basic services,” she said.
“We always said before spending millions on fancy wheels, the city should use the reliable vehicles it already had in its fleet.
“Public money is for service delivery and not for political comfort or prestige.”
The Herald
