The Buffalo City Metro has roped in a law firm in a bid to convince the high court in East London not to make permanent an interim order interdicting the city and the National Treasury from allocating R50m to its 50 wards.
The Treasury was cited as a respondent in the matter because the ward allocation money comes from Pretoria.
City manager Andile Sihlahla approved the appointment of Smith Tabata attorneys after the metro’s legal services department recommended that the municipality deviates from normal supply chain management processes and appoints the firm.
Despite the decision to hire the private firm, Sihlahla wrote in a report, submitted to councillors on Wednesday, that there were no financial implications for the city.
The matter came before the high court in December and the BCM and the Treasury were given until Friday to motivate why the order should not be made a permanent order of the court.
The interim order was granted after African Federal Convention deputy president and East London resident Themba Wele asked the court to put the brakes on the ward allocation process, citing a lack of accountability by councillors on how the money was spent.
In the 2018/2019 financial year, each of the city’s 50 wards was allocated R700,000 to develop communities. The amount was increased to R1m for the current financial year.
Several communities have taken to the streets in protest, saying their ward councillors either could not provide any documentary evidence on what the R700,000 had been spent on, or had unilaterally decided to use the money for items communities never wanted.
The municipality previously said ward councillors did not keep receipts — but the affected communities would hear none of it and demanded that their elected representatives account to them.
Motivating for the deviation to appoint the law firm, BCM legal service head Mlamli Zenile said the metro had not been served with the interim order and became aware of it only after the story was published in the Daily Dispatch on December 28.
In her December ruling, judge Bulelwa Pakati, said the lack of a paper trail on how councillors had spent the funds needed to be addressed.
In his report to councillors, Sihlahla said there would be huge ramifications for the city if it did not oppose the interim order by Friday.
“Failure to appoint [the law firm] by way of deviation will hamper delivery in the wards and deprive residents of the right to access infrastructure.”
In his court application, Wele said: “I have exhausted all possible avenues and do not believe that we have any other option open to us than to approach the honourable court for relief.
“I am advised by my attorneys ... that an urgent application to interdict the allocation and use of funds is the only remedy we have for relief as prayed for in the notice of motion prefixed hereto.”
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