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Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd v Resilient Properties (Pty) Ltd and Others (Sakeliga as amicus curiae)
Naam
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd v Resilient Properties (Edms) Bpk en Andere (Sakeliga as amicus curiae)
Citation
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd v Resilient Properties (Pty) Ltd and Others (Sakeliga as amicus curiae)
Begin / Start
Aug 1, 2018
Tipe / Type
Amicus curiae
Hof
Konstitusionele Hof
Court
Constitutional Court
Litigasiefase
Gunstige uitspraak
Phase
Case won
Volgende hofdatum
Opsomming
Die feite van hierdie saak het oorsprong in ernstige wanbestuur by die Emalahleni Plaaslike Munisipaliteit (Witbank) en die Thaba Chweu Plaaslike Munisipaliteit (Lydenburg), sowel as die onvermoë van die Nasionale Tesourie om daar in te gryp. Die bankrot munisipaliteie kon nie hul debiteurverpligtinge teenoor Eskom nakom nie, en Eskom het besluit om elektrisiteitstoevoer aan die munisipaliteite te staak. Indien Eskom onverpoosd sou kon voortgaan, sou dit die weg baan na betalende eindgebruikers wat landswyd skade ly weens staatsverval en die dispute tussen staatsorgane.
Sakeliga het toegetree as amicus curiae (vriend van die hof) en oor die verloop van twee jaar regsargumente ontwikkelwat die Hooggeregshof in Pretoria as “nuut” en “deurslaggewend” beskryf het. Die vernaamste van die argumente sluit in bepalings oor interregeringsgeskilbeslegting; die noodsaak van rasionele skuldinvorderingsmetodes; en die status van ondernemings en die publiek as die werklike eindgebruikers van elektrisiteit, eerder as, soos Eskom aangevoer het, munisipaliteite.
Hierdie uitspraak bied elektrisiteitsekerheid op plaaslike vlak, omdat die uitspraak verhoed dat Eskom eindgebruikers se krag afsny as ‘n taktiek om munisipale skuld te verhaal. Tweedens verminder dit die impak van staatsverval, omdat die uitspraak alle staatsinstellings – en nie net Eskom en munisipaliteite nie – verplig om interregeringsgeskilbeslegting te volg eerder as om betalende private, derdepartye te benadeel.
Summary
This matter emanated from serious mismanagement at the Emalahleni Local Municipality (Witbank) and the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (Lydenburg), as well as the inability of the National Treasury to intervene. The bankrupt municipalities were unable to meet their debtors obligations towards Eskom, and Eskom decided to suspend electricity supply to the municipalities. If Eskom were able to proceed without hindrance, it would have paved the way for paying end users all over the country to suffer damages owing to state decay and disputes among organs of state.
Sakeliga intervened as amicus curiae (friend of the court) and in the course of two years developed legal arguments which the High Court in Pretoria described as “new” and “decisive”. The most important arguments touch on the necessity for intergovernmental dispute resolution, the need for rational debt collection methods, and the status of businesses and the public as the real end users of electricity, rather than, as Eskom alleged, municipalities.
The judgment provides for electricity security at local level, because it prevents Eskom from cutting end users' power supply as a tactic to recover municipal debt. It also lessens the impact of state decay, because the judgment instructs all state institutions – not only Eskom and municipalities – to follow intergovernmental dispute resolution processes rather than prejudicing paying private third parties.
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