Quick action by a municipal official saved the Mayor from embarrassment on Monday 9 June, as he narrowly avoided losing his car to the Sheriff.
Quick action by a municipal official saved the Mayor from embarrassment on Monday 9 June, as he narrowly avoided losing his car to the Sheriff.
Municipal officials, councillors and employees gathered in front of the city hall watching helplessly as Sheriff Witness Ntshokoma prepared to attach the R332 916 vehicle.
Tow trucks were called to remove the vehicle. However, municipal labour relations officer Xolani Mbeleni came to the mayor's rescue, producing the proof of payment to Ntshokoma minutes before the tow truck arrived at the scene to tow the car away. The mayor's Toyota Fortuner was to be auctioned in accordance with a high court judgment.
The judgement ordered the municipality to pay legal costs in a case that started during the National Arts Festival three years ago.
Attorney Brin Brody told Grocott's Mail two weeks ago that the municipality had paid Grahamstown teacher Anne Preston R993 000 after she fell over a vehicle barrier erected around Church Square during the Festival in July 2011. Preston, a former Springbok hockey player, broke her elbows. Makana eventually paid damages on 27 September last year.
However, the court had also ordered the municipality to pay legal costs amounting to R160 000.
"They didn't pay this," said Brody. "So we had no choice but to instruct the sheriff to attach assets. "We didn't want something essential like a fire truck or electricity repair vehicle to be taken out of action and asked the Sheriff to attach something least onerous to the municipality as a whole."
This turned out to be the vehicle purchased last year for the Mayor. Mbeleni told Grocott's Mail that the municipality had processed everything, and paid the money to the lawyers on time. "It was a miscommunication between the sheriff's office and the lawyers; we have paid," he said.
Speaking to Grocott's Mail Magistrate's Court Sheriff Annerie Wolmarans said she was called by panicked municipal officials asked her to come to city hall to intervene in the matter. Wolmarans says she went to the lawyers' office to find out if the municipality had made the payment.
"They told me that they had received the payment and I rushed to the town hall," she said.
Wolmarans says when she arrived at the city hall she could see that Mbeleni had the proof of payment.
Ntshokoma refused to comment on the matter when Grocott's Mail contacted him, saying he was not allowed to disclose his actions to the media. According to a sale in execution notice placed by Grahamstown law firm, Wheeldon, Rushmere and Cole, in last week's edition of Grocott's Mail, the mayor's Toyota Fortuner was to be auctioned in the Magistrate's Court on 11 June.
