The mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mondli Gungubele, recently met with the legal practitioners from various organisations, including the Public Protector, Socio-Economic Right Institute of South Africa (SERI), Human Rights Commission and Wits School of Law, amongst others, to explore cost effective ways of settling legal battles.
“We have come to appreciate that we are not enemies with offices such as the Public Protector,” said Gungubele.
“We share the common objective of the betterment of the community.
“When you get to court, it takes resources, and we are here to say, on issues of common interest, let’s sit down and talk.”
Central to the issue concerning the municipality and the legal fraternity are the evictions, issuing of title deeds in terms of succession and execution of the estate of the deceased, amongst others.
These disputes, which often escalate into court cases, can, in many incidences, be prevented by ensuring a healthy relationship exists between the municipality and the legal fraternity.
“Let us simplify the legal work for our people; people are not interested in the legal jargon, but they are interested in knowing how quickly their problems will be resolved,” the mayor said.
The executive mayor conceded that some cases will inevitably reach the courts, but the majority of them shouldn’t.
“This is not going to be an easy journey; we are going to fight, but in pursuit of a common cause,” he said.
“This coalition is not about hiding the teething problems that exist in the municipality, but to work together to better the livelihood of our citizens.”
The legal fraternity also expressed dissatisfaction with the turnaround time by the municipality, which often leads to full legal action involving the courts.
One of the stakeholders, Zama Zondo, an attorney from the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), stated that when the municipality does not respond to allegation request letters timeously, it results in legal representatives having no choice but to take further legal action.
Zondo’s message was echoed by many who attended the gathering.
In response to the concerns raised by the legal stakeholders, the mayor said the municipality will investigate the possibility of establishing a dispute resolution unit, which will specifically deal with matters with legal implications.
“Doing so will guarantee that issues are dealt with on time and that legal representatives are not sent from pillar to post before legal matters are resolved, because they will know the appropriate person with whom to liaise,” stated Gungubele.
