The Democratic Alliance appeared in the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday to stop the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) from going ahead with demarcations the party is opposed to.
The DA argued that decisions taken by the board in this regard were illegal‚ the party said in a statement on Wednesday.
Its main concern was that the “demarcation process was pushed through with such haste - to the extent that due process and procedural fairness were compromised”.
“Specifically‚ the Board’s decision to go ahead with its unilateral municipal demarcations of outer boundaries on account that its decisions are fraught with procedural irregularities‚ and are‚ therefore‚ irrational and should be set aside.”
The DA argued that the process was conducted without public participation‚ leaving out especially the poor who would be most affected.
The party also said the process was inconsistent. “Some dysfunctional municipalities were left alone; other functional municipalities were joined with dysfunctional ones. In some cases‚ the Board disregarded its own expert investigations.
“It is clear that the process was politically motivated and flawed. We will demonstrate this in detail when we engage the substantive review of these decisions.
“Appreciating the seriousness and urgency of this matter the DA is hopeful that the Court will grant an interdict for interim relief and agree to hear the substantive matter of the DA’s review application at a later stage so as not to delay preparations for the impending elections.”
RDM News Wire.
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