Thuli Nhlapo
In a bid to cling to power, the now-defunct Hartbeespoort white conservative local council has rendered the newly elected council dysfunctional with the help of a controversial Pretoria High Court judge.
The new Hartbeespoort/Brits local council, referred to as NW372, has been barred from using any assets, making staff changes and touching the budget other than for the normal administration of the former municipality.
Furthermore, the NW372 has been forced not to withdraw the legal action instituted by the outgoing council against the Demarcation Board and several other parties.
Judge Willie Hartzenberg granted this urgent interdict that in effect means NW372 is litigating against itself and footing the bill.
“It is unfortunate that we find ourselves faced with the ghost of the former council. But, as the matter is still before the court, we cannot comment further for fear of contempt of court,” the mayor of the NW372, Ray Motsepe, said.
Judge Hartzenberg, younger brother of the president of the Conservative Party, Dr Ferdie Hartzenberg, is not new to controversy. Hartzenberg made headlines recently when the state unsuccessfully brought an application for his recusal in the trial of the former chemical and biological warfare programme head Wouter Basson.
The bizarre order by Judge Hartzenberg to award the interdict against the NW372 with costs was granted on December 12 last year, one day after the NW372’s first meeting where it resolved not to continue with the court case.
Some members of the new council alleged that it was not a coincidence that the old council waited for a chance to appear before Hartzenberg, but it was another strategy to stall the democratic process. The squabble between the Hartbeespoort local council and the Demarcation Board began last year when the latter decided to amalgamate Hartbeespoort with Brits. The then council started legal action alleging that the board’s decision was both procedurally and substantively unfair.
After the council’s success in its interdict application, it is going ahead with the main application to review the demarcation.
“We are up in arms about the [interdict] decision and not at all pleased. We will continue to seek legal counsel so as to try to expedite that the [review] case be heard much earlier,” North West government representative Blake Mosley-Lefatola said.
Azhar Cachalia, legal representative of the North West government, said the earliest the case could be heard would be March or April.
African National Congress council member Roger Roman said: “This is the complete failure of the system to bring democracy to 3 000 poor families of Hartbeespoort since 1994 when we became a democratic country. It is a sad indictment, especially on the human level. It means the 3 000 have theoretical rights. You cannot seek a legal solution for a political problem and that is what happened in this case.”
Since NW372 could not interfere with staff members of the Hartbeespoort local council, Johnie Bench, who remained CEO, has afforded former council members space in the December issue of the council’s newsletter, Aqua Vita Est, to launch scathing attacks on individuals who challenged the old council.
Apart from the ex-mayor’s Christmas greetings, there is a lengthy article by Dr Daneel Rossouw, chair of the former council, in which she tries to explain the council’s reasons to opt for privatising municipal services.
An anonymous writer provided a detailed report on the present situation under the headline “Latest demarcation news”. Bench has dismissed the incident by saying the newsletter was prepared before the elections, but the second article talks about the newly elected council.
When approached for comment, Bench directed all queries to the new mayor, while Rossouw redirected questions to Bench.