Legal update & press coverage
The City has been served the refuse application and the next steps are as follows:
- The City of Johannesburg has until on, or before 19 April 2022 in order to file their notice of intention to oppose and the record of the decision;
- JPOMA will then have until 5 May 2022 in order to file any supplementary notice of motion or affidavit that we feel is necessary;
- The City will then have until on or before 17 June 2022 within which to file their answering affidavit, and JPOMA will have until 1 July 2022 to file a reply;
- JPOMA then has 10 days within which to file heads of argument, rendering them due on 15 July 2022, and the City of Johannesburg will have 10 days within which to file their responding heads of argument, being 30 July 2022. At that stage JPOMA will be entitled to apply for an opposed date which we anticipate being in mid-September 2022 in the event that the parties adhere to the above time periods.
Update from Michael Wellbeloved of VMW Inc.:
To provide an update in this matter, this morning we addressed this letter to the City of Johannesburg, warning against the disconnection of municipal services to the accounts that form the subject of the review application. After transmitting the letter I received a telephone call from Hloni Mokoena, of Moodie & Robertson Attorneys, who informed me that he had been instructed in the matter and that he had received our letter. Hloni agreed in broad terms with the content of our letter, on a without prejudice basis and stated that he would have to take instruction.
The first timeline in this application comes to pass on 19 April 2022, on which date the City will have to file the record of the decision. We will provide an update on that day but we anticipate that the City will be late in filing the record.
JPOMA are currently finalising the sewer application.
Following the city being served, JPOMA circulated another press release, which has created a great deal of attention. Please see below the various publications: