Case Law[2022] ZAGPPHC 771South Africa
Emfuleni Local Municipality and Another v Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and Another (76183/2019) [2022] ZAGPPHC 771 (14 October 2022)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
14 October 2022
Headnotes
judgment in the main application which was in favour of the first respondent and against the first appellant. The court had ordered the first appellant to pay amounts owed to the first respondent in terms of an Acknowledgement of Debt Agreement and the Electricity Supply Agreement entered into between the parties.
Judgment
begin wrapper
begin container
begin header
begin slogan-floater
end slogan-floater
- About SAFLII
About SAFLII
- Databases
Databases
- Search
Search
- Terms of Use
Terms of Use
- RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds
end header
begin main
begin center
# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
You are here:
SAFLII
>>
Databases
>>
South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
>>
2022
>>
[2022] ZAGPPHC 771
|
Noteup
|
LawCite
sino index
## Emfuleni Local Municipality and Another v Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and Another (76183/2019) [2022] ZAGPPHC 771 (14 October 2022)
Emfuleni Local Municipality and Another v Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and Another (76183/2019) [2022] ZAGPPHC 771 (14 October 2022)
Download original files
PDF format
RTF format
make_database: source=/home/saflii//raw/ZAGPPHC/Data/2022_771.html
sino date 14 October 2022
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(GAUTENG
DIVISION PRETORIA)
CASE
NO: 76183/2019
APPEAL
CASE NO: A318/2021
REPORTABLE:
NO
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
REVISED
14
October 2022
In
the matter between:
EMFULENI
LOCAL MUNICIPALITY FIRST
APPELLANT
(First
Respondent in court
aquo
)
THE
MUNICIPAL MANAGER,
DITHABE
NKOANE N.O.
SECOND APPELLANT
(Second
Respondent in court
aquo
)
And
ESKOM
HOLDINGS SOC LTD FIRST
RESPONDENT
(Applicant
in court
aquo
)
THE
NATIONAL ENERGY REGULATOR OF SECOND RESPONDENT
SOUTH
AFRICA
(Third Respondent in court
aquo
)
This
judgment is issued by the Judge whose name is reflected herein and is
submitted electronically to the parties/their legal representatives
by email. The judgment is further uploaded to the electronic file of
this matter on Caselines by the Judge or his/her secretary.
The date
of this judgment is deemed to be 14 October 2022.
JUDGMENT
COLLIS
J
[1]
Before this Court, the appellants have invoked their right to bring
an automatic appeal in terms of
section 18(4)
of the
Superior Courts
Act, 10 of 2013
against an order of Vorster AJ dated 2
nd
November 2021.
[2]
The Notice of Appeal has listed the grounds of appeal as follows:
2.1
In terms of
section 48
of Superior
Courts Act 10 of 2013 (“
Superior Courts Act&rdquo
;) Vorster AJ
was not an Acting Judge at the time when he granted the order in
terms of
section 18(3)
as his acting stint had ended on 27 September
2021. As such, the order granted by Vorster AJ was not competent and
valid and of
no force and effect. At the time when Vorster AJ
adjudicated the
section 18(3)
application, he was not appointed in
terms of section 175 of the Constitution.
2.2
Acting Judge Vorster ignored the
Answering Affidavit filed by the Appellants.
2.3
Acting Judge Vorster’s order is a
nullity for its failure to comply with section 18(4)(1)(i) of
Superior Courts Act.
2.4
Acting
Judge Vorster granted the order
which does not comply with Rule 45 of the Uniform Rules of Court.
2.5
Acting Judge Vorster, was not legally
competent to grant the execution order when the first respondent has
not provided security.
2.6
Acting Judge Vorster was not legally
competent to grant an order at the time when the Leave to Appeal was
already seized with the
Supreme Court of Appeal.
BACKGROUND
[3]
On 21 August 2021 the
court a quo
granted summary judgment in
the main application which was in favour of the first respondent and
against the first appellant. The
court had ordered the first
appellant to pay amounts owed to the first respondent in terms of an
Acknowledgement of Debt Agreement
and the Electricity Supply
Agreement entered into between the parties.
[4]
Subsequently, on 2
nd
November 2021, Acting Judge Vorster
ordered that the operation and execution of the summary judgment
order is not to be suspended
pending the decision of the application
or appeal. It is the aforementioned order that the appellants are
appealing against. In
that order, Judge Vorster put into operation
the Summary Judgment order he granted on 21 August 2021,
notwithstanding any Leave
to Appeal or Appeal. This order the
Appellants contend was granted in contravention of section 18(4)(i)
of
Superior Courts Act.
SECTION
18 OF THE
SUPERIOR COURTS ACT
[5
]
In terms of the common law, the noting of an appeal suspends the
operation and execution of a judgment pending the outcome of
an
appeal.
[1]
[6]
Section 18(1)
of the
Superior Courts Act, whilst
restating the common
law position, provides that a party in whose favour judgment was
given, may apply to the High Court in terms
of
section 18(3)
for an
order that the execution and operation of the decision not be
suspended pending the decision of the application or appeal,
but that
the order be executed.
[7]
Section 18
of the
Superior Courts Act reads
as follows:
“
18
Suspension of decision pending appeal
(1)
Subject
to subsections (2) and (3), and unless the court under exceptional
circumstances orders otherwise, the operation and execution
of a
decision which is the subject of an application for leave to appeal,
is suspended pending the decision of the application
or appeal.
(2)
Subject to subsection (3), unless
the court under exceptional circumstances orders otherwise, the
operation and execution of a decision
that is an interlocutory order
not having the effect of a final judgment, which is the subject of an
application for leave to appeal
or of an appeal, is not suspended
pending the decision of the application or appeal.
(3)
A court may only order otherwise as
contemplated in subsection (1) or (2), if the party who applied to
court to order otherwise,
in addition proves on a balance of
probabilities that he or she will suffer irreparable harm if the
court does not so order and
that the other party will not suffer
irreparable harm if the court so orders.
(4)
If a court orders otherwise, as contemplated in subsection (1)-
(i)
the court
must
immediately
record reasons for doing so;
(ii)
the aggrieved party has an automatic right of appeal to the next
highest court;
(iii)
the court hearing such an appeal must deal with it as a matter of
extreme urgency; and
(iv)
such order will be automatically suspended, pending the outcome of
such appeal.
(5)
For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), a decision becomes the
subject of an application for leave to appeal or of
an appeal, as
soon as an application for leave to appeal or a notice of appeal is
lodged with the registrar in terms of the rules.”
THE
TEST
[8]
A court may grant an order to execute under exceptional
circumstances. The empowering provision requires the applicant
to prove on a balance of probabilities that he or she will suffer
irreparable harm if the court does not so order and that the
other
party will not suffer irreparable harm, if the court so orders
(section 18(3)).
[2]
GROUNDS
OF APPEAL
Whether
Section 48
of the
Superior Courts Act extended
the powers of Judge
Vorster to act as a Judge of the High Court beyond his appointment to
the time that the
Section 18
Application was argued?
[9]
In respect of this first ground of appeal, the argument advanced on
behalf of the appellants is that
Acting
Judge Vorster, was no longer an appointed Judge when he presided on
the application in terms of
section 18(3)
and when he made the
subsequent order.
[10]
At the time of the hearing his acting appointment had ended and this
fact was confirmed on record by the Judge when the application
was
heard.
[11]
During the proceedings the Judge had advanced as reasons when the
point was taken by the appellants, that he will proceed to
preside on
the matter, as prior to the commencement of the proceedings, he had
obtained direction from to the Deputy Judge President
as to whether
he will be permitted to proceed with the hearing of the
section 18(3)
application after his acting appointment had come to an end and was
assured that it will be competent for him to adjudicate the
matter.
He was therefore confident that he could proceed to hear the
application albeit that his acting appointment had come
to an end.
[12]
On behalf of the appellants it was contended that Acting Judge
Vorster ought to have known well, that it is not the opinion
or view
of the Deputy Judge President as to whether he can preside, which
endowed him with the authority to hear the matter, but
the issue is
rather whether he has been properly appointed by the appointing
authority to have acted as an Acting Judge at the
time.
[13]
Furthermore, as the authority to appoint Acting Judges does not fall
within the purview of the Deputy Judge President, but
indeed falls
within the purview of the relevant Minister, it follows that any
extension or reappointment of an Acting Judge cannot
be made by the
Deputy Judge President, once it has terminated, but that it can only
be made by the designated Minister.
[14]
On this basis, the appellants had argued that it was incompetent for
the Judge to have presided over the
section 18(3)
application, as at
the time he was not reappointed by the designated Minister.
[15]
In addition to the above a further argument advanced relates to the
provisions of
Section 175(2)
of our Constitution. The section reads
as follows: “the cabinet member responsible for the
administration of justice must
appoint acting judges to other courts
after consulting the senior judge of the court on which the acting
judge will serve.”
[16]
Following on this,
Section 48
of the
Superior Courts Act further
provides that:
“
any
person who has been appointed as an acting judge of a Superior Court
must be regarded as having been appointed also for any
period during
which he or she is necessarily engaged in the disposal of any
proceedings in which he or she has participated as
such a judge,
including an application for leave to appeal that has not yet been
disposed of at the expiry of his or her period
of appointment.”
[17]
In relation to
Section 48
, counsel had argued that the section is
meant to facilitate a proper administration of justice. For instance,
to ensure that a
person is not reappointed to deal with unfinished
business he could have finished as an acting Judge. Examples of such
situations
are the following: the noting of Leave to Appeal which is
not entertained or disposed of at the time the acting appointment
ended.
This will include all Leave to Appeals lodged against the
Judgment and Orders of the acting Judge when his or her term has
ended.
It also includes any partly heard matters before an acting
Judge. A matter where an acting Judge is sitting with other Judges in
a Full bench of Appeal which has not been finalized, or the writing
of reserved Judgments when the acting appointment has ended.
[18]
It is on the above analogy, that counsel had argued, that the
proceedings must have been pending at the time that the acting
appointment had ended and the acting Judge must have been seized with
the matter before such termination.
[19]
Further that Acting Judge Vorster had not been necessarily engaged
with the
section 18(3)
application at the time when the proceedings
were instituted by the first respondent. By this time, as previously
mentioned, he
was no longer an acting Judge.
[20]
His engagement with the matter, so the argument went, had terminated
when he delivered the Summary Judgment order. The only
outstanding
matter necessary for his engagement was the application for Leave to
Appeal, which is expressly mentioned and provided
for in
Section 48.
Acting Judge Vorster had dismissed the application for leave to
appeal with a punitive costs order.
[21]
It is on this basis that counsel had argued that the orders made by
Acting Judge Vorster in the
section 18(3)
application are therefore a
nullity and fall to be set aside.
[22]
It is noteworthy that but for the submissions made by counsel, this
Court was not directed to any authority to support the
arguments
advanced by the appellants specifically on this ground of the appeal.
[23]
In opposition the first respondent had argued that the authority of
Judge Vorster to adjudicate the
Section 18
Application, was first
raised from the bar by the appellant. At the same time the appellant
also informed the Judge that it did
not have to comply with his
directive previously issued directing it to file opposing papers and
Heads of Argument.
[24]
This was predicated on the fact that the appellant had made enquiries
with the Judge’s Registrar and had learned that
his appointment
as Acting Judge had come to an end. It is on this basis that the
appellant had argued that the Judge had to recuse
himself from
hearing the
Section 18
application.
[25]
In this regard the first respondent had argued that as it is common
cause that Judge Vorster’s original appointment in
terms of
Section 175(2) of the Constitution was good, it was argued, it
follows that his appointment in terms of section 48 was
extended to
the time that the Section 18 application was argued. This is so as
the Section 18 application concerned proceedings
which Judge Vorster
initially participated in as a Judge.
[26]
Judge Vorster, counsel contended, was in the best position to deal
with the Section 18 application and to do substantial justice
between
the parties as he was fully acquainted with the proceedings.
[27]
His judicial powers, counsel had argued further, were extended beyond
his appointment by Section 48. It was on this basis that
it was
argued that because the Section 18 application arises from
proceedings he participated in prior as the Judge, it must follow
that his powers to act as a Judge were extended beyond his
appointment.
[28]
In support of this argument the first respondent relied on the
decision Airy and Another v Cross-Border Road Transport Agency
and
Others
2001 (1) SA 737
(T).
[29]
At paragraph 7 page 740 Tuchten AJ - as he then was, dealt with the
issue as follows, albeit in the context of Rule 49(11):
“
[7]
I turn to the Rule 49(11) application. Counsel for respondents
submitted
in limine
that
it was not competent for me to hear the Rule 49 application. I heard
the main application by virtue of acting appointment which
terminated
on 5 May 2000. I do not presently hold any judicial appointment,
acting or otherwise. My judicial powers, therefore
extend only to
proceedings contemplated under section 10(6) of the Supreme Court Act
59 of 1959.
[8]
Section 10(6) of the Supreme Court reads as follows:
Any
appointment made under this section shall be deemed to have been made
also in respect of any period during which the person
appointed is
necessarily engaged in connection with the disposal of any
proceedings in which he has taken part as a judge and which
have not
been disposed of at the termination of the period for which he was
appointed or, having been disposed of before or after
such
termination, or are a re-opened.
[9]
The question is, therefore, whether an application under Rule 49 (11)
should be viewed as being in connection with the main
application or,
as is submitted on behalf of the respondents, new proceedings
notionally distinct from the main application. The
Judge who presides
in a Court that considers a Rule 49(11) application must try to do
real and substantial justice, for which purpose
he may take into
account all relevant circumstances surrounding the case. Ideally
therefore, he should be fully acquainted with
the proceedings which
led to the order giving rise to the Rule 49(11) application. He must
form a view on the prospects of success
on appeal. He must consider
the prejudice to the parties. The Judge who made the order under
attack will more often than not
already have done a substantial part
of the work required for the proper adjudication of a Rule 49(11)
application. Another Judge
would have to reiterate much of the work
of his erstwhile acting colleague.
[10]
The proceedings constituted by the main application have not been
“disposed of”, to use the language
of section 10 (6) of
the Supreme Court Act. This is because the several parties sought
leave to appeal. It follows that my acting
appointment is deemed to
also to have been made in respect of the period during which I am
necessarily engaged in connection with
the disposal of such
proceedings.”
[30]
Counsel for the respondents contended that Section 18’s
predecessor is the now-defunct Rule 49(11) of the Uniform Rules
of
Court. The subrule was repealed by Government Notice R317 of 17 April
2015 [GG 38694 of 17 April 2015] with effect from 20 May
2015, and
that the principles established in a long line of cases decided in
relation to Rule 49 (11) still apply, albeit now in
relation to
Section 18.
[3]
[31]
In addition counsel had argued that it has been a long-established
practice not only in this division, but in all other divisions
of the
High Court, that an application to carry into effect a judgment and
order which is the subject of an application for leave
to appeal,
whether it was in terms of the now defunct Rule 49(11), or in terms
of
section 18(1)
of the
Superior Courts Act should
be decided by the
Court or Judge who adjudicated upon and decided the matter initially.
This is a sensible practice, and there
are cogent reasons why this
practise should be observed.
[32]
Applying this analogy, the first respondent had argued that Judge
Vorster was properly seized with the matter and he had the
authority
to adjudicate upon the
Section 18
application.
[33]
The reasoning employed in the Airy-judgment this Court finds favour
with for the following reasons:
33.1
Acting Judge Vorster was fully acquainted with the proceedings which
lead to the
Section 18(1)
application;
33.2
As such, he was best poised to consider and form a view on the
appellants prospects of success on appeal;
33.3
Judge Vorster, having been the judge who initially granted the
summary judgment order, had already dealt with a substantial
part of
the merits which would be required for consideration for a proper
adjudication of the
section 18(1)
application;
33.4
If another colleague would have been asked to deal with the
application under
section 18(1)
, this other colleague would have been
tasked to repeat much of the work already done and considered by
Judge Vorster and this may
impact on the proper administration of
justice;
33.5
Lastly, at the time when the
section 18(1)
application was
adjudicated upon, the application for leave to appeal was still
pending.
[34]
For the above reasons I conclude that Judge Vorster had the power and
authority to consider and adjudicate the
section 18(1)
application
and that any orders granted by him pursuant thereto, did not amount
to a nullity.
Failure
by Acting Judge Vorster to have regard to the Answering Affidavit of
the Appellant.
[35]
In order to consider this ground of appeal, it is necessary to
consider what transpired before Judge Vorster when the
section 18(3)
application was heard.
[36]
Prior to the hearing of the
section 18(1)
application, Judge Vorster
issued a Directive in anticipation of the hearing regarding how the
exchange of papers should take place.
The
Section 18
application was
set down for hearing on 2 November 2021. The appellant failed to
comply with this Directive so issued by the Judge.
[4]
[37]
When the matter was heard on 2 November 2021, Judge Vorster
questioned the appellants’ failure to file opposing papers
in
accordance with the directive he had previously made and questioned
its further failure to request condonation for the late
filing of the
Answering Affidavit.
[5]
The
appellant replied that it does not recognise him as a Judge because
his appointment as an Acting Judge had come to an
end.
[38]
This is the reason proffered by the appellant why it did not have to
comply with the Judge’s directive to file its Answering
Affidavit timeously and its Heads of Argument within the time periods
directed by the Judge as it did not regard those orders/directives
to
have been made by a Judge.
[39]
After the refusal by the Judge to recuse himself, the appellants
counsel then refused to further participate in the
Section 18
application and asked to be excused from the proceedings. This all
transpired without the Judge being asked to condone the late
filing
of the Answering Affidavit to introduce its evidence. The result
being that the
Section 18(1)
application proceeded on the unopposed
basis.
[6]
[40]
The Rules of Court and Directives issued by the Court cannot simply
be ignored or disregarded by a litigant. When issued it
must be
complied with unless cogent reasons exist which will militate against
complying with same.
[41]
To the matter at hand, the wilful and intentional failure by the
appellants to file its Answering Affidavit timeously was as
a result
of it not recognizing the authority of Judge Vorster to preside over
the Section 18(1) application.
[42]
In the absence of any condonation application seeking leave from the
Court to file its Answering Affidavit belatedly, Judge
Vorster was
correct to consider the Section 18(1) application in the absence
thereof. Judge Vorster could not have regarded the
Answering
Affidavit, which had not properly been placed before the Court.
[43]
For the above reasons, we similarly could find no merit in the second
ground of appeal.
Failure
to comply with the provisions of Section 18(4)(i) of the Superior
Court’s Act
[44]
In respect of the third ground of appeal, the argument advanced on
behalf of the appellant was to the effect that the subsection
enjoins
the court to record the reasons for its order immediately. The
subsection, it was argued, is couched in peremptory terms
and the
court has no discretion to dispense with its obligation to record the
reasons.
[45]
In this regard, counsel argued, that Acting Judge Vorster had failed
to comply with this peremptory section with the resultant
effect that
the order so given by him is a nullity, cannot be given effect to and
falls to be set aside on this ground alone.
[46]
In support of this argument, counsel had placed reliance on the
decision in Mphahlele v First National Bank of SA LTD
[1999] ZACC 1
;
1999 (2) SA 667
(CC);
1999 (3) BCLR 253
(CC) wherein it was held at
para 12 that:
“…
The
rule of law undoubtedly requires Judges not to act arbitrarily and to
be accountable. The manner in which they ordinarily account
for their
decisions is by furnishing reasons. This serves a number of purposes.
It explains to the parties, and to the public at
large which has an
interest in courts being open and transparent, why a case is decided
as it is. It is a discipline which curbs
arbitrary judicial
decisions. Then, too, it is essential for the appeal process,
enabling the losing party to take an informed
decision as to whether
or not to appeal or, where necessary, seek leave to appeal. It
assists the appeal court to decide whether
or not the order of the
lower court is correct. And finally, it provides guidance to the
public in respect of similar matters.
It may well be, too, that where
a decision is subject to appeal it would be a violation of the
constitutional right of access to
courts if reasons for such a
decision were to be withheld by a judicial officer.”
[47]
The provisions of Section 18(4), counsel contended, becomes even more
compelling in the case of a Section 18(3) application
because of the
drastic nature of the order of execution pending appeal and the
significance of the automatic right of appeal which
a party attracts.
[48]
An appellant can hardly be expected to exercise his or her automatic
right of appeal without reasons for the order.
[49]
In the present instance, Acting Judge Vorster only provided his
written reasons after the fact, and most tellingly several
days after
the Notice of Appeal had been lodged. It is for this reason that it
cannot be said that he had complied with the requirements
set out is
section 18(4)(i) of the Superior Court’s Act.
[50]
In respect of this ground the arguments advanced on behalf of the
first respondent was to the effect that section 18(3) order
was given
in the absence of the appellant as it had excused itself from further
participating in the proceedings when Acting Judge
Vorster refused
the recusal application.
[51]
It was further contended that Judge Vorster had in the presence of
the appellants given oral reasons for his refusal to recuse
himself
and that counsel for the appellants had thereafter asked to be
excused.
[7]
[52]
Judge Vorster then proceeded to deal with the merits of the Section
18(3) application, as it was unopposed in the absence of
the
Answering Affidavit and granted the relief in the favour of the first
respondent.
[8]
A few days
thereafter, the Judge gave written reasons.
[9]
[53]
It is on this basis that the first respondent had argued that there
indeed had been compliance with the provisions of section
18(4)(i)
and that the ground taken is bad in law.
[54]
Having regard to the record of proceedings, it is incorrect to argue
that Judge Vorster had failed to furnish reasons for his
order in
respect of the section 18(3) application. The record clearly depicts
that reasons were furnished by the Judge albeit
Ex Tempore
on
the day that the application was adjudicated and as mentioned, his
written reasons were given a few days thereafter.
[55]
It is for these reasons, that I conclude that there had been
compliance with the provisions of Section 18(4)(i) of the Superior
Court’s Act and that this ground of appeal is also found to be
without merit.
[56]
The above grounds of appeal as discussed, I find are dispositive of
the appeal and it is for this reasons that on the remainder
of the
grounds no view will be expressed.
[57]
In returning then to the test to be applied by this Court on Appeal,
I therefore conclude that:
57.1
On the basis of the appellants failure to dispute its liability
towards the first respondent, Acting Judge Vorster did not
commit a
misdirection in granting the Section 18 application.
[10]
More so in circumstances where the appellant admitted indebtedness to
Eskom in the amounts of R 25 million and R1.3 billion which
remains
unpaid. In addition, it was specifically agreed between the parties
that pending the resolution of disputes, the appellant
must still pay
the first respondent regardless of such disputes. Further that
upon the finalisation of the dispute, there
would be an adjustment
made on the appellants’ account.
[11]
It is on the basis of the appellants failure to dispute its liability
that there can be no potential harm or prejudice which the
appellant
stands to suffer. Based on this I find that the first requirement in
terms of section 18(3) has been met.
57.2
In turning then to the second requirement of potential of irreparable
harm or prejudice for the first respondent if the Section
18(3)
relief is refused. On this requirement, regard should be had to the
fact that the persons in charge of the appellants’
affairs do
not manage the municipality’s business for their own benefit
but do so for the benefit of the residents who reside
within the
municipal area and who continue to pay it for the services rendered
by it. If the persons in charge of the appellant
thus fail to manage
its affairs properly, it is in the interest of the municipality to
trigger the mechanisms put in place by the
Constitution and
legislation to protect the interests of residents and implement a
turnaround strategy. If this were not to occur,
the first respondent
is harmed by the Court not granting the Section 18 relief and
allowing those in charge of its affairs to run
the municipality into
financial distress. The granting of the Section 18 relief actually
circumscribes the harm suffered by the
appellant by triggering
intervention from provincial and or National Governments.
57.3
For the above reasons, this Court is of the view that the first
respondent had satisfied the requirement of proving on a balance
of
probability that it will suffer irreparable harm or prejudice if the
operation and execution of the order is not suspended and
that the
appellant will not suffer irreparable harm.
57.4
In assessing the third requirement this Court must consider the
appellants’ prospect of success on appeal. In the present
matter as mentioned, the appellant has not disputed its indebtedness
to the first respondent but rather what it disputes is the
manner it
will be required to repay the first respondent.
57.5
From this, it is apparent that the appeal has not been noted with the
bona fide intention of seeking to reverse the judgment
of the High
Court, but rather for purposes of delaying the implementation of
urgent and necessary remedial measures which must
be implemented in
terms of the Constitution. So, for as long as the judgment of the
High Court is not carried into effect there
will be no government
intervention to mitigate the financial losses which the first
respondent is suffering, and the appellants’
electricity debt
will continue to spiral out of control. It is for this reason that I
conclude that the appellants’ prospects
of success on appeal
are virtually non-existent.
57.6
Lastly, in assessing as to whether exceptional circumstances were
found in the present case, the first respondent had argued
as
follows:
57.6.1.
Electricity has become a basic service without which people cannot
go. The first respondent is under a constitutional duty
to ensure
that municipalities which are solely dependent on it for electricity
are able to discharge their obligations under the
Constitution. This
obligation is undoubtedly reciprocal, and municipalities are under a
constitutional duty to ensure that the
first respondent is paid for
the electricity that it supplies and remains financially sustainable
and viable.
57.6.2.
The appellant’s failure to comply with its constitutional
obligations and other legislative instruments is unprecedented.
It
harms the first respondent and the country as a whole. In this
regard, it continues to receive electricity from the first respondent
without making payment, and the municipality’s electricity debt
already exceeds R4 billion. It is on this basis that counsel
contended that the facts of this specific case are exceptional. The
admission of indebtedness on the part of the appellant coupled
with
the poor prospects of success on appeal make the circumstances in the
present matter exceptional.
[58]
This Court aligns itself with these views expressed and consequently,
I conclude that the Section 18(3) application had been
correctly
decided.
ORDER
[59]
For the above reasons the appeal is dismissed with costs, including
the costs of two counsel where so employed.
COLLIS
J
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
I
agree
MAKHOBA
J
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
I
agree
BAM
J
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
Appearances
Counsel
for the Appellants
:
Adv.
W.R. Mokhare SC
Attorney
for the Appellants :
Seleka Attorneys Inc.
Counsel
for the First Respondent :
Adv. P.L. Uys
:
Adv. S.S.Maelane
Attorney
for the First Respondent :
GMI Attorneys
Date
of Hearing :
22 March 2022
Date
of Judgment :
14 October 2022
Judgment
transmitted electronically
[1]
Ntlemeza
v Helen Suzman Foundation and Another
2017 (5) SA 402
(SCA) at
para
19 with reference to the decision in South Cape Corporation (Pty)
Ltd v
Engineering
Management Services (Pty) Ltd 1977 (3) SA 534 (A).
[2]
Incubeta Holdings & Another v Ellis Another 2014(3) SA 189 (GJ);
Ntlemeza v
Helen
Suzman Foundation [2017] ZASCA 93.
[3]
Erasmus Superior Court Practise at D1-680.
[4]
Caselines: Appeal–160 Line 25
[5]
Caselines: Appeal-160 Line 25.
[6]
Caselines: Appeal–168, Line 12
[7]
Caselines: Appeal-168
[8]
Caselines Appeal-177
[9]
Caselines Appeal-173
[10]
Caselines: Appeal-36, para 78.
[11]
Caselines: Appeal-36, para 79.1.
sino noindex
make_database footer start
Similar Cases
Emfuleni Local Municipality and Another v Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and Another (A318/2021) [2022] ZAGPPHC 820 (14 October 2022)
[2022] ZAGPPHC 820High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)100% similar
Emfuleni Local Municipality and Another v Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and Others (104254/2024) [2024] ZAGPPHC 1138 (11 November 2024)
[2024] ZAGPPHC 1138High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)99% similar
Emfuleni Local Municipality and Others v Sams Tissue Products (PTY) Ltd (18024/2022) [2022] ZAGPJHC 954 (1 December 2022)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 954High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)99% similar
Maphalle v South African Police Service and Others (B38945/2022) [2022] ZAGPPHC 875 (17 November 2022)
[2022] ZAGPPHC 875High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)98% similar
N.T Makhubele Enterprises CC and Others v Business Partners Ltd and Others (30109/2022) [2022] ZAGPPHC 559 (27 July 2022)
[2022] ZAGPPHC 559High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)98% similar