SAMWU PRESS STATEMENT

Union to protest outside Pretoria High Court tomorrow in Hartbeespoort "whites only" case

More than 1000 members of the South African Municipal Workers Union from Pretoria, Brits and Hartbeespoort Dam will be protesting outside the Pretoria High court from 10am tomorrow, Tuesday 12th June 2001.

The protest centres around the case of Hartbeespoort Dam versus Brits Council and the MEC for Local Government, which will resume from the 12th-15th June 2001. The case involves opposition by white former Hartebeespoort councillors to the amalgamation of the council's assets with the former Brits municipality, arising out of the demarcation and last year's local government elections.

The former New National Party councillors of Hartbeespoort Dam initially attempted to interdict the demarcations process last year, as they were opposed to being combined with Brits municipality. They lost the interdict after it was contested by SAMWU and the North West MEC for Local Government, Darkie Afrika.

The councillors then reverted to their plan B, which was to privatise all the council's assets to the newly formed Gemeenskapontwikkelings (Pty) Ltd - owned by the eight white members of the previous nine-person council. There was no open tender procedure and Hartbeespoort's only black councillor, Reverend Frank Senatle, was not informed about the privatisation.

After forming the company, the former councillors then took up a High Court case and succeeded in getting an interim ruling that Brits municipality should not touch the assets of Hartbeespoort Dam until the entire High Court case has been heard.

SAMWU is completely opposed to this interim ruling, as it has delayed service delivery to the poor and township dwellers, predominantly from Brits, for the past six months. It has also meant that rates from the wealthy citizens of Hartbeespoort Dam cannot be accessed to cross subsidise service delivery for the poor - which was one of the main objectives of the national demarcation process. Hartbeespoort Dam is the home of South Africa's most expensive residential real estate, with properties selling for as much as R12 000 per square metre, or R3.6 million per house - the highest selling price anywhere in the country.

The union sees the judge's interim ruling as a bad sign. SAMWU does not understand how any judge in his or her right mind can agree to extend apartheid in one town in the country. This is unconstitutional and against the Municipal Systems Act. The union demands that the case be finalised in favour of the MEC and former Brits Council. The former Hartbeespoort local council has never made any attempt to service black working class people in the area. Last year it was reported that not one RDP house had been built for the over 2 000 homeless blacks living and working in Hartbeespoort. National funding of R16 million allocated for houses had been unused. This cannot continue for another day! Immediate integration of all assets and equitable service delivery must be implemented in the newly amalgamated Madibeng Council without further delay.

For comment, call

SAMWU Provincial Secretary

Itumeleng Mosala on

072-241-2888