Tshwane court ruling: Democracy restored and provincial ANC government gets a bloody nose

11 June 2020

The FF Plus is overjoyed by the sensible ruling of the Gauteng High Court which confirms that the previous ruling, that the Tshwane Metro Council was unlawfully placed under administration, is still in effect despite the pending appeals in the case.

The ruling has restored democracy to its former glory and the ANC provincial government was given a well-deserved chastisement in court for its cynical abuse of statutory powers to undermine the democratically elected coalition government in the city.

This is the second defeat that the ANC has suffered in the Tshwane administration saga. The FF Plus has repeatedly warned the ANC that the legal grounds it is putting forward for the administration process are shaky and that its politically opportunist agenda is blatantly obvious so it will not have the desired outcome for them.

That is exactly what has happened now.

In the matter of the Tshwane administration saga, the ANC's actions can only be described as mala fide, particularly those of the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile.

That is why the FF Plus asked the coalition litigants, who will later appear before the Constitutional Court for the appeal, to request punitive cost orders against Maile and the other members of the executive authority who are involved in the case – which was agreed to.

The ANC provincial government's political scheming has had a very detrimental impact on the residents of Pretoria and the surrounding areas and, thus, their leaders deserve to be held personally liable for the legal costs incurred to restore democracy.

The FF Plus is convinced that personal liability can in the future be used as an effective means to crack down on any unlawful actions.

The coalition government can now once again resume its position and continue working hard to get the Metro financially healthy again and govern the Metro properly for the sake of all its residents.

Being one of the proud coalition partners, the FF Plus's elected members will also take up their responsibilities to ensure that service delivery is improved.

It is also encouraging that council meetings can no longer be undermined by ANC and EFF councillors as the Court ruled that the two parties' councillors must diligently attend such proceedings.

The FF Plus will not hesitate to lodge complaints of contempt against any of the ANC and EFF councillors who in the future fail to attend council meetings in a mala fide manner. The FF Plus will not allow the coalition government to be bullied any longer.

Issued by Anton Alberts, FF Plus national chairperson and MPL: Gauteng, 11 June 2020