2008/05/28
COMMUNIST Party officials are trying to push the Constitutional Court to rule on whether Khutsong stays in Gauteng or becomes part of North West.
The delay in the judgment being given was âsuspiciousâ, said SA Communist Party (SACP) chairman Nkosiphendule Kolisile.
Khutsong used to be part of Gauteng but falls in the Merafong area which straddles the border between the two provinces.
The Constitutional Court reserved judgment last September in the application brought by the Merafong Demarcation Forum and 10 other bodies.
They challenged the validity of part of the Constitutional Twelfth Amendment Act of 2005 and the Cross Border Municipalities Laws Repeal and Related Matters Act of 2005, relating specifically to Merafong.
During the court case last year, the police dispersed more than a thousand protesters with rubber bullets when they burnt tyres and hurled stones at law enforcement officers in the streets outside the court.
The registrar in the Constitutional Court said no date had been set for judgment.
Kolisile expressed concern at the âdelay in judgmentâ in the case in which Khutsong residents contested a government decision that the cross-border municipality fell under North West province.
Residents rather wanted to be part of Gauteng, which was perceived as the richer province with a better service delivery track record.
âIt really looks suspicious and indeed extraordinary ⦠we are heading for June now and there has never been a word from the Constitutional Court judges on a matter that has torn the community apart,â Kolisile told reporters in Johannesburg.
He urged the court to act âspeedilyâ in delivering its judgment.
âThe SACP will continue to stand by the people of Khutsong in their choice they have made to remain in Gauteng.â â Sapa
Source : http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=206746
Photo : http://image.guim.co.uk/Guardian/news/gallery/2007/sep/24/internationalnews/[email protected]