Joburg City Manager evades arrest by skin of his teeth

Joburg City Manager, Floyd Brink, has narrowly escaped arrest.

Brink is in hot water over the city’s failure to honour a court order, directing it not to cut off water supply to a resident.

“This legal dispute emanates from a dispute on the rates owed to the City by the said resident and the corrective steps undertaken to rectify same,” says Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda in a statement.

The City of Jo’burg says the warrant against Brink was found to be defective and erroneous and could therefore not legally be executed.

“Also of concern, was the attempt to execute the warrant at the Private Residence of the City Manager, undermining his rights and that of his minor children and family,” Gwamanda adds.

“Given that the matter arises out of the official capacity of the City Manager and his official responsibilities, it ordinarily follows that any such action, were it legal and just, should’ve been undertaken at the known business address of the City and not at a private residence.”

The mayor believes that this is part of a political campaign, conducted through the courts, to stop Brink from executing his duties.

“This attack on his person and character has now been orchestrated to embarrass and target him and his family and to create a public perception that the City Manager is a suspect in a criminal matter.”

The City has instructed its legal team to immediately lodge an urgent application to the Court to stay the execution of the warrant.

It says it will seek to prevent any further abuse of the legal system to harass City officials.

“Equally, the City endeavours to resolve any rates and utility account disputes in an amicable, transparent and cooperative manner with the affected clients to avoid unnecessary and protracted litigation. In this regard, we urge residents to always utilise the available dispute resolution mechanisms which have proved to be effective in assisting residents with billing queries and complaints” concludes Mayor Gwamanda.

Brink has previously been tangled in a legal battle with the DA, which tried to have him removed from office, claiming that he was appointed into the position irregularly.

The Joburg Crisis Alliance is also unhappy with him as City Manager, previously calling for the President to institute a SIU probe into his appointment.