The Uthukela District Municipality has scored a legal victory against RASP Consultants after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the company should hand over the control of the bank account back to the municipality.
The court victory came after almost three weeks of uncertainty, after the bank account was attached when the municipality failed to honour a debt payment plan that was sanctioned by the court.
That led the municipality to use the bank account of the Uthukela Development Agency (UDA) to pay salaries for February, prompting the Provincial Treasury to flag it and the intervention of the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) at provincial and national levels.
Commenting after the court ruling, the municipality said it is relieved by the latest decision of the court.
“This judgment brings immediate relief to the Municipality and allows the municipality to continue fulfilling its constitutional mandate of delivering essential services to the people of uThukela without disruption. UThukela District Municipality remains committed to financial stability, responsible governance, and ensuring that service delivery to communities remains uninterrupted,” the municipality said in the statement.
Despite this victory, the DA’s councillor in the municipality, Thys Janse van Rensburg, said this does not end the troubles of the municipality.
“This obligation remains intact, compounded by an additional R31 million in interest at 11% per clause 7 of the original judgment – interest that constitutes wasteful expenditure and burdens ratepayers unnecessarily.
This interim court ruling is far from a triumph, representing little more than a temporary reprieve that masks deeper financial perils facing the municipality, its employees, and the residents of uThukela.
A very real risk continues to loom over uThukela: RASP Consultants can appeal the interim order, suspending enforcement, or re-issue the writ of execution correctly at any time. This uncertainty raises serious questions about whether the National Treasury will release the next tranche of the equitable share with the real attachment risk unresolved,” he said.
