The Msimanga administration welcomes the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the Chantelle Jordaan matter affirming private ownership rights.
The judgement gives clarity on two crucial issues.
First, new property owners cannot be held liable for historical municipal debts incurred on such properties.
Second, this principle can be upheld without declaring section 118(3) of the Municipal Systems Act unconstitutional.
Initially the High Court declared section 118(3) unconstitutional to the extent that it allowed municipalities to claim historical debt from new owners.
This declaration of invalidity left municipalities with more questions than answers, and it was therefore necessary to seek clarification from the Constitutional Court.
In particular, it was necessary to affirm the nature of municipal debt and a municipality’s preferential right in this respect.
The Court held that it was unnecessary to declare section 118(3) invalid, and affirmed a number of ways a municipality can proactively collect its dues and protect its financial wellbeing.
We will be studying the judgment in the next day or two, and explaining how the DA-led City of Tshwane will make sure it gives effect to the Court’s judgment.