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The Citizen
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Judgment reserved on Ngwathe application
During a virtual sitting on Tuesday, the court reserved judgment on the Ngwathe Local Municipality's application for leave to appeal against an earlier Free State High Court ruling ordering urgent provincial intervention in the municipality. This means that Judge J.P. Daffue's earlier ruling on June 20, in which he ordered, among other things, that the municipality be placed under administration and that the municipal council be dissolved — still cannot be implemented until the court decides whether another court might reach a different conclusion. If not, Judge Daffue's order, previously granted in favour of the civil rights organisation AfriForum, will stand. Should the appeal application succeed, however, the court order will remain suspended until the case is heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Judge Daffue previously found that the Ngwathe Municipality no longer meets its constitutional, legal, and administrative obligations toward its residents. The court therefore ordered the dissolution of the municipal council and instructed the Free State provincial government to intervene immediately. The ruling follows years of neglect, incompetence, and decline, during which residents of Parys, Heilbron, Koppies, Edenville and Vredefort, were left without reliable service delivery. According to the landmark judgment, the Free State Executive Council must, within the framework of Section 139(5)(a) of the Constitution, draw up a recovery plan to restore services and meet debt obligations, dissolve the Ngwathe Municipal Council, and appoint an administrator. Progress reports, under oath, must be submitted to the court every three months. The Ngwathe Municipality, along with eight other respondents in the matter — including the Free State Premier — was also ordered to pay AfriForum's legal costs.
The Citizen
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
‘Communities suffer while municipalities are not held accountable'
Community members and political parties on Wednesday tried to urge the Ngwathe Local Municipality to not appeal to the court judgment for intervention, but to rather prioritise the well-being of the community when they gathered at the municipal building where Council was to make a decision on whether the municipality will appeal the court decision. However, according to court documents an application to the High Court for leave to appeal was filed this week. This follows Judge J.P. Daffue's ruling in favour of AfriForum on Friday, finding the Ngwathe Municipality not fulfilling its constitutional, legislative and regulatory obligations towards residents of Parys, Vredefort, Koppies, Heilbron and Edenville. Daffue ordered as part of a structural interdict that the municipal council must be dissolved and the Free State provincial government must intervene in the municipality's affairs. Speaking on the court ruling earlier this week, Dumisane Magagula, secretary of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), slammed Ngwathe's executive mayor, councillor Victoria de Beer-Mthombeni's defence that her administration inherited a mess, saying that although a legacy issue, it is the successor's entitlement. Magagula was clear that the former leadership cannot be blamed, while given the power and authority to bring change. He explained the aim of a Section 139 ruling as mainly to stabilise a municipality. He mentioned Ngwathe's failure to provide water and sanitation, and said the municipality had been mugged with maladministration and financial chaos, ending up in an over-estimated budget tabled at the State of the Municipality Address. Magagula said it is unfortunate that AfriForum ended up getting the ruling, while the provincial government should have acted earlier. 'Communities suffer while municipalities are not held accountable,' he added. He specifically referred to the budget tabled by Ngwathe, criticising councillors agreeing on a matter, even though it does not make sense and does not benefit the community. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
