Residents of Kgetlengrivier in North West province are again in court after successful a spectacular judgment in December 2020 that pressured the native municipality to hand over management of the world’s damaged water and sewage techniques to the residents affiliation.
This time they need the court to jail the Kgetlengrivier municipal manager, Joseph Mogale, for failing to adjust to the 2020 excessive court judgment that he be jailed for 90 days, suspended given that he repair the municipal water and sewage techniques inside 10 weeks.
The Kgetlengrivier Concerned Residents affiliation argues that Mogale is in contempt of court for failing to adjust to the order.
It was the residents, not the municipality, who restored companies to the area people after forking out shut to R17 million of their very own cash to restore water and sewage techniques to full operation.
Most of that cash has since been repaid by the North West provincial authorities.
Déjà vu
The supply of these municipal companies has since been returned to the municipality by order of the identical court, however as soon as once more residents complain of faucets that run just a few hours a day, and sewage spilling onto streets and close by rivers – the very complaints the led to the unique 2020 judgment within the North West High Court.
The residents are interesting that call, citing the native municipality and 5 others as respondents, together with the minister and provincial MEC of Environmental Affairs.
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“We believe the original 2020 judgment by Justice Gura in the North West High Court was sound in law and sent a message to dysfunctional municipalities that there are serious consequences for allowing basic services such as water and sewage to collapse, as they have once again done in Kgetlengrivier,” says Carel van Heerden, chair of the Kgetlengrivier Concerned Residents.
“This December 2020 order was overturned by one other decide, and we have been ordered to hand again management of the water and sewage techniques to the native municipality.
“The result has been catastrophic. Water flows for just a few hours a day, and sewage spills are commonplace, reversing the excellent work we are residents did when we had control of those services,,” he says.
“We believe the municipal manger must be held to account and jailed, as per the original court order.”
Back and forth
Kgeltengrivier Local Municipality argued in court that the 2020 order had lapsed and was due to this fact not in power, and that giving it 10 weeks to comply was impractical and unreasonable.
That argument was accepted by the court – and is now the topic of the attraction by the Kgetlengrivier Concerned Residents.
Attorney for the residents affiliation, Andreas Peens, says the case might be taken to the Supreme Court of Appeal if mandatory.
“The arguments we are making are critical to achieving proper governance and service delivery for the people of this area,” he says.
“There can also be a constitutional obligation on municipalities to ship fundamental companies. Since the municipality has resumed management over the water and sewage companies, there’s been a breakdown within the supply of those companies, so we’re just about the place we have been after we first introduced the court motion in 2020.
“This cannot be allowed to continue and we have to hold municipal officers to account, even if it means sending them to jail.”
Municipality interdicted
The 2020 judgment by Justice Gura was scathing of the native municipality and municipal manager, and interdicted them from permitting uncooked sewage to overflow into the close by Koster and Elands rivers.
The sewage works have been handed over to the residents, who have been ordered to make use of specialists to monitor the sewage and water techniques for a interval of 10 weeks on the expense of the municipality, after which to report again to the court.
The order additionally discovered that the municipality had failed in its obligations to provide potable water to native residents within the cities of Koster and Swartruggens, and that the water works have been in a state of disrepair and mismanagement.
A jail sentence of 90 days was imposed on the municipal manager for every breach (sewage and water provide) of the order, which the residents now need the court to implement.
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