An interdict against the Buffalo City Municipality Ratepayers’ Association was withdrawn by the Buffalo City Metro at the East London high court in Vincent on Tuesday.
On April 23, the court granted BCM an interdict against a planned protest at the City Hall.
The ruling came after the ratepayers threatened to shut down municipal offices, including that of mayor Princess Faku, on April 23 amid a standoff over debt write-offs, incorrect billing, illegal connections and service delivery issues.
National Community Dialogue chair Leonard Ncumbese said the interdict was unnecessary and was aimed at preventing community members and the NPO from addressing service delivery issues with Faku.
“Instead of handing us an interdict, they could have at least had the decency of hearing our grievances and tried to [solve] the issues before the protest,” he said.
“Our protests are not violent, they are peaceful.”
Ncumbese said they still planned to go to the City Hall to address the issue of service delivery.
“We are not going to back down until these issues are resolved.
“The metro could have at least used the financial resources they used to pay the legal representatives ... to fix the issues faced by community members.”
On April 25, the ratepayers disrupted the handover of a newly built school in Reeston where premier Oscar Mabuyane was in attendance.
Mabuyane ordered BCM to sort out its infamous billing system and service delivery issues.
“We were expecting the interdict to be withdrawn on the day the premier said it was unnecessary, but we are led by stubborn leaders,” Ncumbese said.
Faku’s spokesperson, Bongani Fuzile, confirmed that Ncumbese and ratepayers had been threatening to barricade the City Hall and prevent workers from going in and out on April 23.
“Indeed, Ncumbese and his followers were prevented from disrupting activities at the City Hall on April 23 and/or the all-important visit by the president on April 24.”
He said BCM had achieved what it sought to with the interdict as the respondents had been successfully restrained from carrying out their planned illegal activities.
“There was no further threat past April 30, hence it became futile to litigate beyond April 23 and 24.”
Fuzile said a meeting had been held between BCM and Ncumbese where he committed to raise any service delivery issues with the municipality in a civil manner.
On Tuesday morning, the ratepayers marched from the high court to the human settlements offices in Chiselhurst to demand answers about the promises made by the department regarding the placement of residents in temporary shelters near Mdantsane.
Duncan Village resident Siyabonga Didi said they had been waiting for their houses for years.
“The houses were completely built in 2009 and are now illegally occupied by people who are not listed as beneficiaries.
“The department said we will get the houses before the elections.”
Another Duncan Village resident, Pelisa Mpahla, said: “We are here to get answers from the MEC to get a date on when we will be moving to our houses.”
She said they had been following this matter since March when deputy human settlements minister Pamela Tshwete was at Gompo Hall where title deeds were handed over to residents of Toilet City.
“We were then given a date of April 22 that we would be moving to our houses in Chicken Farm, but nothing has been done.
“We have been trying to get answers from government stakeholders.
“A list of beneficiaries was compiled in 2006, and approved in 2010, but more than a decade later nothing is being done.
“I have been living in a shack since 1998.”
Akhona Mpande said: “I moved to an informal settlement in Ziphunzane in 2008.
“There are elderly people who are depressed.
“Some have passed away while waiting for their houses.
“We do not see the point of casting our votes.”
Fuzile said the temporary structures were for the people who had illegally occupied the recently built RDP houses in Reeston.
“Before they are allocated and allowed into the temporary structures, the illegal occupiers will be verified in the system to check if they have received any houses before,” he said.
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