The City of Johannesburg has filed an application for leave to appeal against the the high court’s decision on the appointment of the city manager, Floyd Brink.
This is after the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, declared on Tuesday that the appointment was unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
This follows the DA’s urgent application in May to have the appointment reviewed.
Brink was appointed by the City of Joburg’s council in February, Brink was appointed by City of Joburg’s council in February this year, despite not passing the vetting requirements.
Acting Judge Steven Budlender ordered the city to alter the appointment.
In a twist of events, the city said today that there were a number of legal grounds for concern in the high court judgment which it believed an appeal court might decide upon differently.
Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda said this automatically suspended the implementation of the judgment until such time the application for leave to appeal is considered, and if granted, until such a time an appeal court judgment is issued.
“The city believes it is in the interests of residents that the administrative capacity and stability of the city is defended and insulated from nefarious political interference,” said Gwamanda.
He said the continual political onslaught and attempts to derail the city’s ability to deliver services and improve governance at an administrative level must be frowned upon and acted against.
A number of opposition parties, including ActionSA, said this might affect service delivery to residents. However, Gwamanda disagreed.
“The city will continue to dedicate its resources and focus to the urgent needs of residents and service delivery,” he said.
Amid the judgment, the DA claimed victory, saying the council must be dissolved.
The party maintained that Brink’s deployment was unlawful.
“This judgment strengthens our resolve to ensure that the Johannesburg council is dissolved so that fresh elections can take place, giving the voters themselves the opportunity to resolve the crisis of governance in the city,” said the DA’s Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku.
ActionSA Joburg Caucus Leader Nobuhle Mthembu said the party warned the DA and then-coalition partners against this sort of blow to the service delivery agenda in the city that they had made great strides to putting on track.
“Beleaguered service delivery will now suffer another setback and it will, again, be the people of Johannesburg who will shoulder the brunt of this mangled appointment process at the hands of the ANC-EFF coalition of doom,” said Mthembu.
The Star