Western Cape human settlements department wins costs in Bitou housing project case

Cape Town – The Hammond and Hammond Transactional Law Clinic, which had sued the Bitou Municipality and the provincial Department of Human Settlements, has been ordered to pay costs to the department after withdrawal of a case related to the controversial Qolweni housing project.

The issue of the housing projects and the delays caused by alleged corruption recently led to violent protests in Plettenberg Bay.

In its lawsuit the law clinic, which is a public benefit organisation, sought an order that the municipality and the department be interdicted from appointing a new contractor to execute the contract “pending the resolution of the current dispute”.

Western Cape High Court Judge Kate Savage said the law clinic was liable for the costs of one of the department’s lawyers, but the municipality would bear its own costs.

Judge Savage said: “Ordinarily, the withdrawal of a matter is viewed as a concession on the merits, a recognition that the merits have become academic or that the relief sought is for whatever reason futile.

“Whatever the reason for the withdrawal of a matter, the court retains a discretion to award costs with the general rule being that the respondent is entitled to all costs caused by the institution of the proceedings, a rule which is not to be departed from without good grounds.”

The department became involved in the case following the law clinic and the municipality’s failure to settle the matter.

The case was dominated by details of bribes allegedly demanded from Anele Hammond of the law clinic, by Bitou Council officials over the termination of a contract for the construction of the houses.

A company known as Ukhana Projects had tendered for the construction of 169 houses in the Qolweni housing project but, after it was awarded the R38 million contract, it ceded the contract to the law clinic.

In her affidavit, Hammond indicated that after cession of the contract she received a demand to pay municipal officials an upfront bribe of R700 000 with the remainder of the money to be paid as a monthly percentage on each certificate, due until the end of the contract.

However, in its affidavit, the municipality argued that Hammond’s affidavits “vexatiously contain unsubstantiated, irrelevant allegations of corruption and incompetence on the part of members of Bitou Municipality”.