The Pretoria high court has slapped down Tshwane metro’s appointment of a consulting company to run Wonderboom airport.
And the metro has been ordered to appoint a new airport manager in two weeks.
The Wonderboom Airport Interest Group – which brought the urgent application forward – welcomed the court’s decision.
The urgent interdict suspends the transactional advisory firm, Ntiyiso Consulting, appointed by the metro to manage the Wonderboom national airport.
Granting the application, Judge J Ranchod said: “The appointment of the second respondent (Ntiyiso Consulting) as an external mechanism and as a transactional advisor for the structuring of assets and the implementation of an optimal revenue generation plan for the Wonderboom national airport be suspended.”
Ranchod then gave an order regarding the management of the airport.
“The first respondent (the Tshwane metro) is directed to appoint and employ, within 15 days from the date of this order, a properly qualified airport manager with the purpose that such a manager runs the entire operational functions of the Wonderboom airport,” Ranchod ruled.
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The Wonderboom Airport Interest Group (WAIG) said the order was “a step in the right direction to ensure that the airport is managed in an efficient manner and to the benefit of the tenants of the Wonderboom airport, the citizens of Tshwane and all ratepayers and taxpayers in Tshwane”.
Chairperson Christian Maiorana said the court action between WAIG and the Tshwane metro had commenced in November 2019, after the metro announced it had appointed Ntiyiso Consulting for a 24-month period, to assist it in returning the airport to its former glory and establishing a way forward.
Outgoing Tshwane metro Stevens Mokgalapa said either the facility would be commercialised or sold off as it had allegedly proven to be a “fake jewel which had drained the metro of around R50-million in maintenance while only returning around R30-million in revenue”.
Last week, Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said they were confident Ntiyiso Consulting’s appointment was above board and would abide by the court’s ruling.
Rekord was awaiting updated comment from the Tshwane metro at the time of going to press.
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