TZANEEN – Residents of Tzaneen once again face the risk of widespread power outages following a new court decision.

On October 28, the Limpopo High Court Polokwane division ruled in favour of Lindor Ondernemings, the owners of the property known as 524 LT, District 9, the site where the Tarentaalrand substation is located. Although the substation is owned by the Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM), the municipality does not have a formal lease agreement for the land.

The court’s latest ruling gives Lindor Ondernemings the legal right to disconnect and dismantle the substation without providing public notice. If this happens, many communities that depend on the substation could be left without power.

This legal battle began on March 12, 2023, when the court ordered GTM to vacate the land by April 12, 2024, and to pay damages for unlawfully occupying the property. Despite several rounds of settlement discussions that at one point seemed promising, no final agreement was reached.

In September, the landowners announced plans to dismantle the substation in three stages, starting on September 22. In response, GTM urgently approached the court on September 25, seeking an ex parte order to temporarily suspend Lindor Ondernemings’ right to act on the previous judgment.

The court granted this interim relief, halting any disconnection of the substation until January. However, on October 28, Lindor Ondernemings successfully challenged the interim order.

The court dismissed GTM’s application and set aside the temporary suspension, effectively restoring the landowners’ right to proceed with removing the substation.

“This means we can now go ahead and remove the substation as we had initially planned,” said July Mathebula from July Mathebula Attorneys, representing Lindor Ondernemings. “The municipality went to court in our absence, and we are pleased that the court has now ruled in our favour.”

Mathebula added that after the ruling, they met with GTM officials, who promised to return with a land evaluation report by October 31.

The municipality later requested a postponement to November 3, but still failed to provide any feedback.

“We are still consulting our client to determine the way forward,” said Mathebula. “Under the current court order, we are entitled to execute the ruling without further notice to the public or the municipality, but we are considering all our options.”

The Herald reached out to the GTM for comment, at the time of print no response was received.