It is an absolute disgrace that residents of the City of Cape Town have to shell out because the City dragged its feet in lodging a damages claim for the roof of the Cape Town Stadium.
The City knew about the damage, which came to light during the installation of Cell C equipment, since 18 November 2015 already.
However, the City only sent a damages claim to Cell C on 21 November 2018. By then, the claim had already prescribed and according to a recent High Court ruling, Cape Town has to cover the costs.
According to a Network24 report, Judge Hayley Slingers stated in her ruling that the City brought this on itself as it had the basic facts needed to proceed with the claim on 18 November 2015 already.
The consequence of this gross negligence is that Cape Town’s taxpayers will have to foot the bill of R909 900. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) finds it unacceptable that the City’s legal team dragged its feet and now taxpayers must pay the price for it.
The matter should be thoroughly investigated and the individuals guilty of dereliction should be held personally liable for the bill.
Taxpayers should not have to shoulder the financial burden of officials’ negligence while they get off scot-free.
