Seizure of Key Tools of Trade a Threat to Service Delivery
Pete Graham
ActionSA Councillor
ActionSA notes with grave concern the seizure of assets worth millions of Rands by the Sheriff of the Court yesterday, 25 August 2022. This was proven by numerous videos verifying assets being removed from eThekwini Municipal offices and the publication of the High Court Order of South Africa Warrant of Execution in the matter.
In terms of the judgement, the city was ordered to pay Daily Double Trading 479 trading as Pholobas Projects an amount of R30 million plus interest of approximately R13.7 million. The city appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed with costs. It is incomprehensible how the city’s legal department, which knew about the action in May 2022 did nothing to ensure that the city’s assets were protected.
The lack of service delivery by the ANC within the city has been a matter of grave concern for all residents. Many of these residents have had their quality of life impacted by the city’s ongoing failures to deliver on its mandates across all business units. The further seizure of key “Tools of Trade” can only further hamper the city’s ability to ensure the needs and, in some cases, constitutional rights of the residents are met.
ActionSA also notes that computers were among the items to be seized yesterday. We call on the city to immediately assure the people of eThekwini that no information (sensitive or otherwise) of a commercial or private nature was stored on any of the seized machines. A breach of basic IT security measures could have dire consequences for parties whose information is no longer protected.
ActionSA therefore calls for an investigation into the failure of the city’s legal department to protect the assets of the city. The very same assets that the ratepayers will now be called upon to replace. We further need to know how the seizure of critical “Tools of Trade” will impact on service delivery and what measures are being put in place to mitigate the risk of further service delivery failures.
Very critically, we call on The City to provide the public with the required assurances and guarantees that personal information has not been protected as it should be under the prescribes of the POPI Act.
We note that until such time as the ANC is removed from power and with it their ability to unduly impact on the professional running of the city, we can expect to see more basic rules of corporate governance breached.
Seizure of Key Tools of Trade a Threat to Service Delivery
ActionSA notes with grave concern the seizure of assets worth millions of Rands by the Sheriff of the Court yesterday, 25 August 2022. This was proven by numerous videos verifying assets being removed from eThekwini Municipal offices and the publication of the High Court Order of South Africa Warrant of Execution in the matter.
In terms of the judgement, the city was ordered to pay Daily Double Trading 479 trading as Pholobas Projects an amount of R30 million plus interest of approximately R13.7 million. The city appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed with costs. It is incomprehensible how the city’s legal department, which knew about the action in May 2022 did nothing to ensure that the city’s assets were protected.
The lack of service delivery by the ANC within the city has been a matter of grave concern for all residents. Many of these residents have had their quality of life impacted by the city’s ongoing failures to deliver on its mandates across all business units. The further seizure of key “Tools of Trade” can only further hamper the city’s ability to ensure the needs and, in some cases, constitutional rights of the residents are met.
ActionSA also notes that computers were among the items to be seized yesterday. We call on the city to immediately assure the people of eThekwini that no information (sensitive or otherwise) of a commercial or private nature was stored on any of the seized machines. A breach of basic IT security measures could have dire consequences for parties whose information is no longer protected.
ActionSA therefore calls for an investigation into the failure of the city’s legal department to protect the assets of the city. The very same assets that the ratepayers will now be called upon to replace. We further need to know how the seizure of critical “Tools of Trade” will impact on service delivery and what measures are being put in place to mitigate the risk of further service delivery failures.
Very critically, we call on The City to provide the public with the required assurances and guarantees that personal information has not been protected as it should be under the prescribes of the POPI Act.
We note that until such time as the ANC is removed from power and with it their ability to unduly impact on the professional running of the city, we can expect to see more basic rules of corporate governance breached.