Gauteng government sets to appeal the dismissal of Tshwane dissolution court judgement
“A superior court must have the final say on the lawfulness or otherwise of the decision of Exco to dissolve the Tshwane municipal council” - Lebogang Maile
Gauteng MEC of Cogta Lebogang Maile said the provincial government will appeal the dismissal of the Tshwane council dissolution overturned by the Gauteng high court.
Last week, the high court president Judge Dustan Mlambo, found the decision taken by Gauteng’s executive council (Exco) of the dissolution of councillors to be unlawful.
The DA won the case against the provincial government with legal costs also granted in their favour.
Maile said the provincial government will again table the case in another court. Maile was confident that another court will take a different view.
“We are still of the firm view that the reasons for Exco’s decision to dissolve the Tshwane Municipal council are solid, with many merits still, as contained in the dissolution notice.
“After consulting with our legal counsel, we have decided to appeal the decision as we are of the view that the court erred in several respects.
“A superior court must have the final say on the lawfulness or otherwise of the decision of Exco to dissolve the municipal council,” he said.
Maile believed the current judgement “ignored” evidence the government’s legal team presented.
He said the high court judgement created “confusion” rather than providing greater clarity on the dynamics of responsibilities between provincial and local government.
“The court’s interpretation of what constitutes executive obligations, we would respectfully submit, was completely misconstrued, given the crisis of service delivery in Tshwane arising out of the political instability and governance collapse – resulting in a human rights crisis such as the Hammanskraal water crisis, which one would be hard-pressed not to see as a failure to meet constitutional obligations as per section 152.”
He said, while the appeal process unfolds, the administrator’s team will continue running the metro.
Maile added that a detailed briefing on the work of the administrator related to service delivery including the provision of clean water in Hammanskraal, a financial recovery plan and the relocation of Mamelodi flood victims amongst others, will follow.
On 4 March, the Gauteng government decided to dissolve the metro using section 139(1)(c) of the constitution of the Republic of South Africa and were later supported by national governance on this decision.
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