ELM blame sky-high legal costs for millions spent
A staggering amount of R55 million is claimed to have been spent by the municipality on legal fees.
There were also claims that an amount of R55 million was spent regarding legal costs in the case of one employee.
ELM has denied spending the reported R55 million on legal fees on a single employee, pointing fingers at the exorbitantly high cost of legal fees, lawyers and advocates that prevent access to justice for most.
The reported amount of R55 million is claimed to be representative of the municipality’s legal spending over at least three years, not on a single case, said one source.
But the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) has still not released a breakdown of its legal spending as promised at the time of publication.
“ELM’s high expenditure on legal matters are due to two factors – the municipality is forced to contest many big repeat cases brought against it including by Eskom and Rand Water amongst others, and then the exorbitantly high cost of legal representation in South Africa today,” said one ELM insider.
The issue erupted over the Easter Weekend based on questions answered earlier in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Mzi Khumalo.
One legal firm reportedly received about R37,5 million in payments, including the case of employee Edward Radebe who had brought a case of unfair dismissal against ELM as far back as 2018.
An amount of R37,5 million was reportedly paid to the Parktown North legal firm Madhlopa &Thenga Incorporated.
Vaalweekblad contacted the firm for comment, but they did not respond.
ELM spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni said in a statement that the municipality had over the years and presently been embroiled in many high-profile legal cases.
“On how the R55 million is being apportioned to various matters, one is quick to realise that payment of R37 million to M&T Inc is highly inflated,” concluded Sangweni.
