KNYSNA NEWS - Public interest association The Accountability Group (TAG) has launched a High Court application to force the national minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, to intervene and dissolve the Knysna council.
In a lengthy mandamus application (an application to force someone to take action), filed on 29 October in the High Court at George, TAG alternatively seeks to have the Western Cape minister of local government, Anton Bredell, intervene and dissolve the council.
If TAG’s application succeeds, it will mean that there could be new local elections in Knysna.
Administrator
TAG has also asked for the secondment of an administrator with a competent support team, including budget and income experts from Treasury, and engineers and experts from MISA (Municipal Support Infrastructure Agent) to assist with infrastructure challenges, and other experts in fields requiring intervention, to ensure the continued functioning of Knysna.
In all 26 respondents are cited in the application, including the mayor and other executive officials, as well as all the councillors in the municipality.
Esme Jefferies, TAG chairperson.
The bundle of legal documents amounts to 109 volumes. TAG seeks to prove to the court that the Knysna municipality is failing to deliver basic services and meet its obligations in that a recovery plan, crafted by the province, has been implemented but is not succeeding, and service delivery is at risk, “and without the support of private enterprise service delivery would already have collapsed”.
Some of the drivers contained in the application are:
Lack of leadership - Knysna has had 13 municipal managers and acting municipal managers since February 2020.
'Political whims'
There have been unlawful appointments of unqualified people to senior management positions "to pander to political whims".
“These have had to be challenged in court, defending the indefensible has cost our town in excess of R7 million in legal fees to the council’s attorneys alone,” said TAG.
There is also a high vacancy rate (41%) within “critical” departments;
Knysna is also facing a cash crunch:
'There is no cash'
“From December 2022 to date, the cash commitments of the municipality exceed its reserves and the budget for 2024/2025 is unfunded.
"There is no cash, resulting in overtime not being able to be paid for emergencies. The private sector has come to the help of the municipality, to keep its vehicles on the road and prevent infrastructure failure.
“Despite having no money, the council resolved to write off in excess of R30 million in services and rates and taxes owing to the municipality by Grey Elephant Investments, notwithstanding the fact that the services charges had been recovered by them from the tenants of the Knysna Mall.
“Unlawful actions - entering into a lease with Grey Elephant Investments without following SCM procedures and ignoring the restriction that suppliers may not owe the municipality money.
'No point in sitting back'
"TAG is of the opinion that there is no point in simply sitting back and watching the town deteriorate.
“While there is no iron-clad guarantee of success, we are hoping to impress upon the courts that intervention, before the complete collapse, could provide a solution to the many municipalities teetering on the brink of collapse,” said TAG.
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