DA back in court to enforce ruling on Tshwane council
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng will be in court on Thursday to ask for the immediate implementation of the recent High Court judgment.
The High Court in Pretoria last month ruled in favour of a DA application to overturn the provincial government's decision to dissolve the Tshwane council.
The party approached the court in March, arguing that Premier David Makhura and his executive committee had dissolved the council for political reasons.
The court agreed with the DA, ruling Makhura’s decision to be unlawful.
Two weeks ago Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC Lebogang Maile announced that the provincial government will approach the Constitutional Court to appeal a high court ruling.
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DA Gauteng Chair Mike Moriarty says the application to appeal the judgement meant councillors could not go back to the office.
"Instead of the council being able to resume office a week later that opportunity was taken away when the ANC and EFF files notice for applying leave to appeal.
"The moment you appeal a judgement it has the effect of suspending it," Moriarty explained.
Moriarty says the party wants the judgment implemented with immediate effect as the appeal could take months.
"So what we want to do is to ask the court - in terms of one of their rules - to apply the judgement immediately and not wait for the appeal to be ear because the appeal could take weeks or months.
"So we are asking that the judgement be made in order - with immediate effect - so the councillors can return to office and the administrator can leave so that the duly elected representative of the people can govern Tshwane."