The Democratic Alliance launched the litigation against the municipality after the council endorsed a VIP protection policy to extend personal protection services to its members but was done without a threat and risk analysis which was to be conducted by the South African Police Service.
High Court Judge Stuart Wilson suspended his order for a period of six weeks to ensure the safety of those affected by the setting aside of the private protection policy and interested parties, during this period, should apply to the judge to adduce facts that removing such security detail “would result in imminent harm”.
According to the judgment handed down at the South Gauteng High Court, the municipality adopted a resolution in March last year endorsing the VIP protection policy under the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act.
At the time the resolution was adopted, the practice was to provide the Executive Mayor with ten personal protection officers - which was later reduced to eight - while the council Speaker, was given eight.
City of Joburg mayco members and the chairs of two of its other committees were each afforded between two and five personal protection officers.
The motivation for the expanded security was due to two people being murdered and Joburg chief whip Sithembiso Zungu who had been wounded after gunmen opened fire at a crowded charity drive in January last year.
The resolution has subsequently been declared invalid and unlawful.
Judge Stuart Wilson said: “The policy still entrenched the provision of far more generous personal protection services to senior municipal councillors than the Act and the ministerial determinations permit…The papers in this case suggest that the City Council might have thought that it could obtain a threat assessment after passing and implementing the 20 March 2024 resolution. If the City Council did think that, then it fell into error. Both the Minister’s determinations and the Act require a threat assessment to be conducted before an expansion of security provision beyond the default limits set in the determinations can be implemented,” the judgment reads.
Stripped personal protection allowances to municipal councillors includes 53 security officers and 10 BMW 3 series vehicles, among other vehicles.