Supreme Court of Appeal slaps Joburg Council for no proper public consultation on Budget
In a hard-hitting judgment, the Supreme Court of Appeal has slapped the Joburg Council for failing to observe the requirements of no less than three Acts of Parliament when it passed its 2009/2010 annual budget. The City came close to having its 2009/2010 budget declared unlawful. Fortunately, the SCA Judges rejected this. It was too late to unscramble that egg (see here).
The successful litigant, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) has been awarded its costs in the Gauteng South High Court and in the Supreme Court of Appeal, which includes the costs of a Senior Advocate and a Junior Advocate. These costs must ultimately be borne by the long-suffering residents of the City.
This case arose because the City utterly failed to engage in the prescribed consultations with the owners of business and industrial properties on the rates to be levied on their properties. And this was despite the warning issued at the time by the DA that the City was courting serious trouble for having failed to consult in terms of the laws.
The ANC controlled administration is now under the spotlight as it prepares the City's budget for the 2013/2014 financial year. Will this budget be the result of real and meaningful public participation?
The residents of the City will once again be subjected to the farcical lip-service to public participation which takes place every year in the so-called Regional Summits; mere ceremonies at which residents needs are noted but never acted upon. Will the City now take heed? The Ward Councillors will, at the City's behest, consult with their Ward Committees and residents associations and will submit the budget requirements of their wards. Will these submissions actually be noted, or will they again be left ignored to gather dust? Will the Council's various multi-party Portfolio Committees be given the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion of the rates and services tariffs which will be proposed in the next budget and the standards of services which will be available?
To all of these questions the track record of the ANC administration suggests a negative answer. Unless there is an intention to change track, then, like in previous years, the final budget will only be known a few days before the Budget Debate at best, or on the very day of the Debate at worst. There will no real opportunity for Councillors, let alone the residents, to gain an understanding of the new budget, let alone engage in meaningful debate.
The City must take heed of this judgment. It sets a precedent which cannot be ignored. If it fails to engage in meaningful and wide ranging public participation, it courts the prospect of more bruising and costly litigation which at the end of the day comes out of the pockets of the residents.
The DA will closely monitor the unfolding processes in preparation for the City's next budget.
Statement issued by John Mendelsohn, DA Shadow MMC of Municipal Public Accounts in the City of Johannesburg, November 19 2012
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