The DA in eThekwini calls on the City Manager, Musa Mbhele, to ensure that the Legal Services Unit furnishes a comprehensive report on the Tansnat legal process to the Finance Committee at its next meeting on 17 May 2023.
The biggest single debtor of the eThekwini Municipality is Tansnat Durban CC, which owes the municipality R987,032,182.
This debt arises from the operation of the municipality’s bus service operated by Tansnat, using buses supplied by the municipality. This is done in terms of a month-to-month agreement which years ago, was held by the court to be unlawful.
For the past two months, the DA has requested a report from the municipality’s Legal Services Unit on the status of the “legal process” at Finance Committee and Full Council meetings.
The DA again requested that a report from the Legal Services Unit be tabled at the last meeting of the Finance Committee on Wednesday, 19 April 2023, outlining the contentions of both the municipality and Tansnat and what action is being taken by either party to address the legal processes.
Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda was adamant that a report on an incomplete legal procedure could not be delivered, and that a report could not be given until the legal process was completed. His objection to the report being provided was that it would affect the “legal process.”
Kaunda’s viewpoint is clearly misinformed and a smokescreen to prevent transparency.
Tansnat clearly profits from delaying the litigation for as long as possible because the debt is accumulating at a rate of roughly R 15 million per month. Similarly, there is every reason for the Municipality to resolve the dispute as soon as possible.
Given that collecting this debt will have a significant positive impact on the Municipality’s budget, the DA will offer the city the services of three attorneys who serve in the caucus to assist the municipality in completing the litigation process.