ConCourt declares dissolution of Tshwane council unlawful
The Constitutional Court has found that the decision by the Gauteng executive council, led by the MEC for Cooperative Governance Lebogang Maile, to dissolve the Tshwane city council was unlawful.
The decision was taken in March 2020 following political deadlock and walk-outs by ANC and EFF during council meetings.
The DA subsequently challenged the decision in court.
The majority judgment found that the executive committee acted beyond its legal powers when it dissolved the council.
According to the court there were no exceptional circumstances that pointed to the municipality being unable to fulfil its executive obligations.
Instead it found that the municipality was committed to improving the lives of its residents and complying with its constitutional obligations.
"In other words, the jurisdictional facts of section 139(1)(c) had not been established by the provincial government for it to have lawfully dissolved the Municipal Council. The provincial government, the argument continues, therefore acted ultra vires," the apex court said.
"To dissolve a municipality that is doing something about the issues before it is contrary to what our Constitution requires. The provincial government is required to support and strengthen the municipality to manage its own affairs, and in this case, it did not. Therefore, dissolution on this basis was not appropriate because the municipal council had already taken steps to ensure its fulfilment.”
The judgment also stated that the province failed to pursue any other means of addressing the political crisis.
The DA has welcomed the judgment, stating that it has been vindicated.
"You could see the consequences of their actions, for eight months the city was run by administrators that caused nothing but chaos and left the city with a deficit of R4.3 billion, and we still now at this moment struggling to overcome the deficit which has caused a severe strain on the city and we believe MEC Maile should be held personally accountable for this mess," said Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams.
Williams said they will be seeking legal advice on what route to take to recover the losses incurred by the city.
Full judgement
ConCourt declares dissolution of Tshwane council unlawful by GaoOliviaPhalaetsile on Scribd
ALSO READ:
