DA lost another expensive court case
The ANC was again vindicated for its criticism on the DA leader Helen Zille as premier of the Western Cape, her MEC for local government Anton Bredell, and her entire cabinet for their breach of the Constitution and illegal interference to disband a municipal council.
Zille has wasted taxpayers money to the tune of hundreds of thousands of Rand to punish the Overberg District Municipal council it could not get control over in a democratic way, says the ANC.
This morning in Bloemfontein a full bench of five judges of appeal lead by deputy president Louis Harms in the Supreme Court of Appeal rejected Zille's appeal with cost.
Mr. Pierre Uys, ANC chief whip and spokesperson on local government in the Western Cape provincial legislature, said: "It is another defeat in a row of blows to this DA government. The judges disagreed with Zille's wrong interpretation of the constitution.
"Judge of Appeal Fritz Brand said Zille and her cabinet ‘failed to exercise the discretion bestowed upon it' and ‘failed to consider less drastic means' to intervene in a stale mate after the speaker of that council left and the municipal manager refused to call the council to meet in order to approve a budget."
Brand wrote in his judgement: "The impugned decision of the cabinet offended the principle of legality, because it directly resulted from the cabinet misconstruing its powers... of the Constitution."
Uys says: "Zille, Bredell and the DA government protested the finding of the Cape High Court and denied any wrongdoing. Now the Supreme Court of Appeal and the judges disagreed. They maintain other appropriate and suitable avenues could have been followed."
Zille, her MEC and cabinet erroneously dissolved the Overberg District Municipality, appointed an administrator and passed a draft budget.
"The vindictive DA intervention was against the Constitution and the required respect for other spheres of government, and disregarded local government as a forum for community participation.
"Judge Lee Bozalek five months earlier in the Cape High Court found the decision to dissolve the council (from 16 July 2010) was squarely based upon... misconstruing the (Constitutional) provisions and thus failed to exercise its discretion... and ill-suited to the problem."
Mr. Uys says he warned Bredell should have only instructed the acting municipal manager to call a meeting of the Overberg council in order for it to proceed with its work after the speaker vacated office. The council was willing and able to pass a budget as is required.
"This judgment today confirmed the DA's fixation to waste taxpayer money to settle personal political scores, and to attack the Constitution, our democracy and the Rule of Law. It is more anxious to sit in court than to deal with human dignity and rights.
"The power-hungry DA fought the High Court finding, who stole the power in Overberg it could not get democratically. The finding is an indictment against the DA's preaching on constitutionalism."
Statement issued by the ANC Western Cape, March 18 2011
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