Phiwokuhle Mothemela
Nelson Mandel Bay deputy mayor, Gary van Nierkerk, said he was confident that the criminal charges against would not be successful.
He made another appearance in the city's Commercial Crimes Court where he faces two counts related to cybercrime and two for allegedly contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act.
"My attorney is familiar with the case that I defrauded the municipality, and that is a total lie,” he told the media after his court appearance.
The state alleges that Van Niekerk "unlawfully, falsely, and intending to defraud, brought two law firms under the impression that he was authorised to instruct them to perform legal work".
This pertained to Van Niekerk challenging his expulsion the then Northern Alliance.
Algoa FM previously reported that according to the charge sheet, Van Niekerk hired the services of Boqwana Burns Attorneys (BBA) on 8 June 2022, allegedly without authority and in defiance of Supply Chain Management Processes or procedures.
Each financial year, a panel of attorneys is selected after relevant tender processes have been completed.
During 2022, BBA was not on the panel.
Three months later, in December 2022, after Van Niekerk's reinstatement as a councillor, he wished to obtain legal advice on council procedures.
The then City Manager declined this request and allegedly communicated to Van Niekerk, who is said to have instructed Mc Williams Elliot anyway.
The law firm later demanded payment for services rendered by the accused in his private capacity.
This, then saw Van Niekerk being suspended at a council meeting in December last year.
On Friday during proceedings, State Advocate Kenny Cooney told the court that they still haven't received written representations from Van Niekerk's defence team.
The matter was then postponed to 6 March for the state to receive the written representations which pertain to Van Niekerk's innocence
Quizzed on why the written representations were not ready, Van Niekerk said his attorney was sick and had not been at work for the past two weeks.
