The high court ruled Tshwane’s cleansing levy unlawful again, forcing the city to stop collection and refund affected residents.
It was back to the drawing board for the City of Tshwane after yet another ruling against the city’s cleansing levy.
In August, the city appealed the finding by the High Court in Pretoria, ruling the new cleansing levy illegal after it dismissed the city’s application for leave to appeal the decision on 31 July that the implementation of the levy was unlawful and should be set aside.
AfriForum is demanding the city immediately refund the money that has been unlawfully collected from Pretoria residents for the cleaning levy over the past few months, or face further court action.
Court blocks Tshwane’s cleansing levy
This comes after the high court on Tuesday took a strong stand.
In his latest ruling, Acting Judge George Avvakoumides reaffirmed that the city’s controversial levy was unlawful and that the original ruling remains in force pending the outcome of the appeal process.
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AfriForum district coordinator for greater Pretoria south, Arno Roodt, said the latest ruling was a decisive victory for the residents of Pretoria.
“A court order is normally suspended as soon as a party appeals against the order, but AfriForum has proven that the city’s conduct is exceptional, unusual and unacceptable.
“The court has, therefore, ruled that the city’s appeal application has no suspensive effect. This means that the collection of the illegal levy must stop immediately and that residents who were already forced to pay it are now entitled to a full refund,” Roodt said.
The high court on Tuesday handed down a judgment preventing Tshwane from implementing the city cleansing levy, pending the outcome of the matter before the Supreme Court of Appeal.
