Three judges from the Free State High Court said it is time for the local municipalities to cater for the people.
Image: File
The Bloemfontein High Court, in a judgment against the Mafube Municipality and top officials, stressed that the people of the Free State deserve better and that municipalities in this province must accept accountability for effective service delivery to their people.
A full bench (three judges) of this division ordered various senior officials of the province, including the Free State Premier and the MEC for Cooperative Governance, to finalise and implement a financial recovery plan without delay.
They must also immediately stop the pollution of the Vaal and Wilge Rivers caused by the municipality’s wastewater treatment facilities. These officials must report to the court under oath within 60 days on the interim measures that have been implemented to prevent the spilling of sewage.
This order followed an appeal by the Mafube Business Forum (MBF) as well as AfriForum against a previous court order dismissing an application to find the Free State Premier and others guilty of contempt of court.
On appeal, the full bench agreed that the premier cannot be held in contempt of court, but upheld the appeal insofar as declaratory and mandatory orders. The premier and other officials cited as respondents were ordered to implement a financial recovery plan for the Mafube Municipality and to implement emergency measures to curb sewage pollution.
The judges said the officials had significantly neglected their constitutional obligations and violated the basic rights of the residents of Frankfort and other towns in the Mafube Municipality.
AfriForum and the MBF have been embroiled in a long-running court battle against the premier of the Free State and 12 other respondents.
The full bench of judges found in their declaratory order that the Free State Premier and other respondents, including the province’s Executive Council, failed to comply with court orders issued in 2021 and 2022.
AfriForum and the MBF’s case was aimed at ensuring sustainable service delivery in the Mafube Local Municipality, which includes Frankfort, Tweeling, Villiers, and Cornelia. According to AfriForum, service delivery in Frankfort, in particular, has virtually come to a standstill.
According to Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum's head for the Central Region, the court order is yet another nail in the coffin of the Mafube Municipality, highlighting the municipality’s inability to deliver services.
“We welcome the ruling and the fact that the judges point out that the municipality lacks the necessary funds for upgrading its infrastructure. The ruling once again confirms that the municipality’s underperformance knows no bounds and that it also lacks the political will to tackle the problems.”
He added that the municipality would rather engage in years of litigation than tackle the towns’ problems.
“The time is ripe for communities and private institutions to be allowed to deliver services themselves and collect funds for those services,” Grobbelaar said.
The judgment lists the numerous times that the Mafube Municipality has been litigated on charges of poor management and service delivery, but they simply do not bother to comply with the court orders.
The court said it accepted that Mafube, as a small municipality, does not have the resources to pay for upgrading its infrastructure, but its maladministration apparently has no boundaries.
It was also said that Mafube failed to introduce relevant by-laws to ensure effective and legal collection of revenue. It is accepted that National Treasury has the final say in Mafube's Financial Recovery Plan, but nothing material had been achieved by the time the answering affidavit was deposed to.
“The administrator crafted a plan of action that focuses on financial recovery, but clearly, this is not what Mafube had to do. A structural interdict will hopefully ensure that Mafube explains in detail what it did to obtain assistance from National Treasury in this regard,” the court said.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za
