TZANEEN – The DA in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM) plans to submit a motion at the next council sitting to investigate and identify officials responsible for legal fees amounting to R35.3m.

This follows multiple court losses, including the most recent ruling by the Polokwane High Court on February 12, which ordered the municipality to pay Malunga Tax Consultants an initial amount of R7.2 million; an amount that has since ballooned due to unnecessary litigation tactics, the DA says.

According to the DA’s political head in the GTM, Adv Franco Marx, instead of fulfilling its financial obligations, the municipality intentionally dragged out legal proceedings for over a decade by filing frivolous interlocutory applications and requesting repeated postponements.

The Polokwane High Court severely criticised these tactics, making it clear that they served no purpose other than to obstruct justice at the expense of Tzaneen’s residents.

The Malunga Tax Consultants case cost the municipality R20.3m, consisting of the initial claim at R7.2m; R5.7m interest accrued due to delays; R2.7m for the municipality’s legal fees before the November 2024 hearing; R1.2m for estimated legal fees for the November 2024 hearing and R3.5m for estimated taxed costs of Malunga.

Marx says it was not an isolated incident. In November 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Bravospan against the municipality for failure to pay for services rendered since 2013.

“The original claim was only R2m, but the municipality used delaying tactics to avoid payment, dragging the case through unnecessary legal battles.”

The Constitutional Court held that both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the High Court agreed that, after close to a decade of waiting, Bravospan should receive compensation for the services that it provided to the GTM.

“It cannot, therefore, be in the interests of justice to prolong this litigation and delay an award of compensation any longer.”

The financial implications in the Bravospan case ballooned from an R2m claim to an R15m liability for the municipality; the initial claim was R2m. R2m for estimated interest accrued due to delays; R5m for the municipality’s legal fees before the Constitutional Court judgment; R1m for the estimated legal fees for the Constitutional Court hearing and another R5m for estimated taxed costs of Bravospan for all matters.

The DA says it will request a full breakdown of all legal costs incurred in these cases.

GTM spokesperson Vutivi Mkahubele says the municipality cannot comment on matters which has been forwarded to the council and will only be able to comment after the Speaker has provided a formal response to the council.