A court battle between officials from two opposition parties, the PA and the DA, has begun after Gayton McKenzie, minister of sport, arts and culture and PA leader, filed a court application against Western Cape DA MEC Anton Bredell for local government, environmental affairs and development planning on Tuesday.

The case, filed in the Cape High Court, stems from McKenzie’s time as mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality with Beaufort West as its main centre in 2022. McKenzie held a controversial fundraising event that raised more than R1 million to finance service delivery in the Karoo town. In the application, McKenzie is asking the court to stop an ongoing investigation that Bredell ordered into aspects of the project.

In the court papers, which are not urgent, McKenzie argues that Bredell and other DA officials handled the fundraising as if it was shrouded in corruption. He points out that the money raised at a lavish function at a Sandton hotel was used for the replacement of pit toilets, the repair of a municipal swimming pool and other infrastructure repair work. He also points out that the work is not in dispute in Bredell’s investigation, but that the investigation concerns which bank account the money was deposited into.

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According to the court documents, the investigation was ordered under Section 106 of the Systems Act. This gives a provincial MEC the power to investigate alleged malpractice at a municipality and then submit the report within 90 days to the National Council of Provinces, the minister of finance and the national minister of local government.

McKenzie argues that the 90 days expired years ago, that the forensic investigators appointed by Bredell have dragged their feet and that the court should therefore stop the investigation. He also argues that Bredell ordered investigations into matters that fall outside the framework of the law. Instead of municipal matters, the investigation was ordered into whether the money was deposited into the correct account of the company that managed the funds for McKenzie.

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The court papers also argue that little was done in the first two months of the 90-day period. But with the approaching 2024 national election, it was suddenly politicised from DA ranks.

The Central Karoo District Municipality is cited as second respondent together with Bredell, as well as the two forensic investigators who must handle the investigation.

Wouter Kriel, Bredell’s spokesperson, said in a response that the matter was “not so simple”. According to Kriel, there is a long history of legal action and appeals by McKenzie that have previously been rejected by the courts.

The department’s legal team is currently studying the necessary documents to formulate a complete response, and a comprehensive statement will be issued in due course.

When asked about the feelings of local government, development planning and environmental affairs regarding the court application, Kriel’s answer was simple. “The feelings don’t really matter.”

SOURCE: Die Papier