DA contests ANC and EFF appeal

14 May 2020

Note to Editors: The DA’s founding affidavit for a Section 18 Application is attached here.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) filed papers for a Section 18 Application at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today calling for the immediate implementation of the recent High Court judgment declaring the dissolution of the Tshwane Council unlawful, notwithstanding any appeals against the ruling by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The High Court judges ruled on 29 April 2020 that the ANC’s strategy to grab back the power it had lost in 2016 was illegal and gave them a lesson in constitutional democracy and were scathingly critical, especially when it came to the conduct of Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Lebogang Maile.

But, despite the court giving the ANC five days to remove their deployed administrators from office to allow a smooth transition back to DA leadership it failed to do so.

Instead, on Friday 8 May 2020, the Democratic Alliance (DA) received notice of papers filed by the Gauteng Provincial Government and the EFF to appeal the North Gauteng High Court’s judgment, which had declared the MEC’s power grab illegal.

Unfortunately, the filing of these appeals automatically stays the judgment that overturned the unlawful dissolution of Council.

This means that the Administrator and his team remain in office and the legitimate representatives of the voters, the councillors, remain out of office. This also means there is a void in accountability.

The Court correctly found that the problem in Tshwane was not the Speaker, nor was it the Mayor or his committee. The problem was ANC and EFF Councillors that refused to attend meetings. The problem was compounded by the MEC’s unwillingness to deal with these councillors.

The ANC and the EFF argue that the High Court removed their “right” to disrupt.

In actual fact, the Court reminded them of their obligation to serve the residents of Tshwane and elsewhere. It is these same residents who have to endure more weeks of instability and pay for the ANC’s legal costs in the process.

The filing of the appeals are an insult to the people of Tshwane, who have been betrayed by the ANC and EFF political parties’ representatives in the city who insist on playing dirty politics.

It is clear that neither the ANC nor the EFF are prepared to allow a Court to stop their strategy of rendering ungovernable a Council which they don’t control. This is of extreme concern because after next year’s elections there will be many more such Councils.

Issued by Mike Moriarty,DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 14 May 2020