Pretoria - The DA in the City of Tshwane will start a “pay-back-the-money” campaign against the city leaders after the municipality has failed in another court battle regarding ward committees.
Monday is D-day for ward committees in the city, after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the city’s application to challenge a North Gauteng High Court decision declaring them unconstitutional.
Mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale said the city should be able to take an informed decision, make it public and properly communicate it to all ward committees on September 15. “We believe that such insignificant temporary relief is not intended to perpetuate the tenure of the ward committees. Neither it is contemptuous to the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.
“Council will inevitably have to weigh the implications of a city managed and administered without operational ward committees for a delayed period, including a consideration of the upcoming local government election.”
The DA said it could return to court to force mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa and other senior political office bearers to comply with the court order. They may also have to repay the millions given to members of the ward committees as monthly stipends, backdated to 2012.
Lex Middelberg, of the DA, said the opposition party would start a “pay-back-the-money” campaign against the city leaders, and if needs be, by way of a court process.
The council application was dismissed with costs on the grounds that an appeal had no reasonable prospects of success. It was the third failed attempt by the city, which kept the ward committees operating despite the March judgment declaring them unconstitutional and invalid.
The DA had applied for the setting aside of the ward committee elections because they were elected on a by-law that had been found to be unconstitutional.
Middelberg said the party was left with no alternative after the speaker of council Morakane Mosupyoe-Letsholo refused to rectify the illegal ward committees voluntarily. “We warned the speaker, the executive director in her office, executive mayor and city manager Jason Ngobeni repeatedly that the elections were illegal and void,” said Middelberg.
“Despite our warnings and later their knowledge of the high court’s order, these individuals who are legally responsible for the payments made by the city continued to pay out money and chose to pursue mindless appeals, knowing full well the payments were irregular and unauthorised.”
He said the high court order declaring ward committees void was effective from the elections in 2012.
Therefore, approximately R10 million paid to a third party to run the flawed elections, and the R12.6m annually to ward committee members constituted irregular and unauthorised expenditure in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
The money must be recovered from the speaker, executive director of her office, city manager and the mayor in their personal capacities, in accordance with the legislation.
In total an amount of about R43.6m must accordingly now be repaid to the city from their own pockets, said Middelberg.
“Even if they try to construct a further appeal to the Constitutional Court, this will not suspend the court order as the principle of legality applies, where if a prior court found that something was unconstitutional, it remains as such until pronounced otherwise, if ever.”
Manale said the city respected the ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal and acknowledged that it had a final option in the form of the Constitutional Court for consideration. However, he said such would be rightfully exercised or waived depending on legal advicel.
“Importantly, the court has not at any point found anyone to be negligent in the ward committee elections and liable to repay any costs disbursed. Neither was same a prayer by applicants and as a result, repayment or recovery of same is not in question,” said Manale.
Pretoria News