Sakeliga arguments in Resilient case finally put an end to power and water outages due to non-payment disputes
27 September 2021
Government institutions that provide services, including Eskom, will in the future no longer be able to disadvantage paying end users due to non-payment by municipalities. In fact, no dispute between any state institutions may further give rise to prejudice against paying end users. This principle, which was laid down in a ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal last year in the Resilient case against Eskom in which Sakeliga was involved, has now become legal precedent. This, after the Constitutional Court denied Eskom’s application for leave to appeal in the Resilient case as well as a similar case in Sabie.
As amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the Supreme Court of Appeal, Sakeliga underlined the need for intergovernmental dispute resolution and rational debt collection methods, pointing out that businesses and other end users cannot be held hostage in disputes between state institutions. The court agreed with these arguments.
Piet le Roux, CEO of Sakeliga, emphasises that the implications of the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling in Resilient, which has now finally become binding legal precedent, are enormous.