Gauteng government has defended its decision to dissolve the City of Tshwane Council, insisting that the local government intervention is mandated by the law to dissolve a council if the council is failing.
Government has argued in the Supreme Court of Appeal that it did not breach the constitution by dissolving the City of Tshwane Council.
It is appealing against the North Gauteng High Court judgment which ruled in Democratic Alliances (DA)’s favour to set aside the dissolution of the council.
The court found that the decision by Gauteng government to dissolve the municipal council was unlawful.
Senior Counsel, Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi has submitted before the appeals court that it is preferable for the administrator to continue running the Tshwane municipality.
Representing Gauteng government, Ngcukaitobi has argued that the council under the leadership of the Democratic Alliance was dysfunctional and has caused irreparable harm to the residents.
Advocate Ngcukaitobi told the SCA that the DA has run the municipality to the ground.
“The solution ignores the political route of the program which is the collapse between the EFF and the DA coalition. It treats the EFF and the ANC essentially as children who simply do not know their responsibilities. It excludes the inability of the DA to manage the political relationship with the EFF which they have been running together for at least the past 3 years,” says advocate Ngcukaitobi.
The respondent in the case argued that Tshwane municipality has achieved unqualified reports three years in a row under the DA.
DA’s Advocate Steven Budlender has told the Supreme Court of Appeal that the Tshwane residents are deprived of its elected government.
Advocate Budlender has submitted that the constitution contemplates a limited period for which citizens may be deprived of governance by elected representatives.
“This court has an obvious solution to avoid the looming constitutional crisis. It is to simply grant the relief or dismiss the appeal and grant the relief in terms of Section 83. It is a remedy which the legislature has seen fit to give to this court and this court will be entitled to do it in terms of remedy.”
The judgment is reserved.
In the video below, court sets aside decision to place City of Tshwane Metro under administration:
