14/08/2024
Writing for Veldbrand Media Nuus/News:
JOHANNESBURG: DISPUTES BETWEEN SOWETO PROPERTY OWNERS AND JOHANNESBURG OFFICIALS
Nine property owners in Soweto, who bought land from the City of Johannesburg several years ago between 2009 and 2014, have not been able to occupy their land and were charged rates and taxes in spite of not being connected to basic services. Now they want the court to send City officials to jail for a year for failing to comply with two court orders.
Ther owners bought their properties in the Zondi area of under the City of Johannesburg’s land regularization process.
The process was aimed at selling thousands of council-owned properties to residents, giving them access to land and home ownership.
However, in October 2017, the owners took the City to court after discovering that there was no bulk infrastructure for basic services, and they could not build their homes but were being charged rates and taxes.
They returned to court in December 2021 to secure a contempt order against the City.
Now they are asking for the responsible officials, including a senior manager at the Jo’burg Property Company, the municipal manager, and the mayor, to be sent to jail for a year; the residents have launched further contempt proceedings in the Gauteng High Court. They also want the court to declare that the conduct in their case is inconsistent with the Constitution and is unlawful.
In an affidavit, Pamela Duduzile Nkosi, on behalf of the owners, said: “The core of this application is about accountability. The issues raised in this application are about holding government institutions and officials accountable for not only contemptuous conduct towards this court, but also about the dereliction of their constitutional obligations even after they have been clarified by this court.”
Bonamy Krohn
Photo: Google.com
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