The Plettenberg Ratepayers Association is gearing up to challenge a court ruling allowing fancy cars for politicians.
During lockdown, councillors allegedly agreed to splash out R1.3 million over three years to rent two cars, with Mayor Peter Lobese set to get a R700 000 vehicle, despite having just a year left in his term.
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In response, angry residents started a petition urging the mayor to get a less expensive car and use the leftover cash to feed thousands of Bitou residents struggling to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Plettenberg Ratepayers Association filed a court application to challenge and overturn the ‘unlawful’ choice to lease the two cars.
However, Judge Ajay Bhoopchand dismissed the application two weeks ago. ‘This case is not about the propriety or morality of leasing opulent vehicles for municipal political office bearers at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 when morbidity, mortality and austerity swept the land,’ he stated.
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‘It is about the rule of law and judicial intervention when municipal councils act illegally. In this instance, it is about whether the applicants [the ratepayers] have made out a case alleging unlawfulness.’
The judge also mentioned that the municipality had the authority to acquire vehicles for a particular purpose. ‘There is thus no scope for a judicial review premised on illegality insofar as the case presented by the applicants is concerned.’
Steve Pattinson, the chairperson of the association, stated that their legal counsel reviewed the judgement and found that the judge had made mistakes regarding the facts and the law and they believe that an appeal stands a good chance of success.
‘We are, therefore, lodging an appeal,’ he told News24. ‘If the judgment remains unchallenged, the legal implication is that all municipalities, including Bitou, are effectively given licence to ignore the law and provide perk cars to political office bearers by relying on this judgment.’
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Picture: Bitou Municipality / Facebook