The wheels of justice are grinding too slowly for the liking of a Johannesburg civil engineering company which has accused the Gauteng Department of Public Works and Transport of discriminating against black firms.
Manong and Associates has written a letter to the Magistrate’s Commission expressing its unhappiness with the slowness of the judicial process. The letter, signed by MD Stanley Manong, argues that ”like justice, equality delayed is equality denied”.
Manong and Associates sued the department in the Equality Court for R6-million in January, alleging that the department continued to favour white firms, despite a commitment to affirmative procurement.
Manong said in its court papers that the firm had arrived at the R6-million figure because the white firm given work was paid that amount. If the department followed its own affirmative procurement policies, this amount would have been paid to a black firm.
In its responding affidavits, the department denied ”perpetuating unfair discriminatory practices of the past”. It said Manong and Associates benefited on three occasions from public works programmes. The company dismissed this, saying the projects referred to were pro bono.
The matter went to trial in May. On June 29, the magistrate promised to have the judgement ready in three days. This did not happen.
Hans Meijer, commission member in charge of the ethics division, confirmed receiving a letter from the firm’s managing director, but said the matter had not been looked into.
Manong says in his letter to the commission: ”[At] the beginning of July when the complainant [Manong] enquired about the judgement, he was told that the presiding officer was on leave. [In] mid-August, the complainant was informed by the acting clerk of the Equality Court that the judgement would be delivered in the course of that week.”
He says that when the judgement was not delivered, he spoke to Johannesburg’s senior magistrate, who in turn spoke to the magistrate concerned. He told Manong that the judgement would be handed down in a fortnight. However, there was no judgement at the end of that period.