FREE State Community Safety, Roads and Transport MEC Jabu Mbalula says the provincial government is concerned that the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling allowing a private company to sue his department without statutory notice may set a far-reaching precedent for how state liability is handled in future.
Responding to last week’s judgment, Mbalula described the outcome as a “huge and problematic precedent”, adding that the provincial administration would now have to examine the implications beyond the single dispute before the court.
“This is definitely a huge and problematic precedent for the whole of government,” the MEC told The Free Stater.
“We will have to carefully study the judgment and determine the way forward.”
His remarks come after the SCA sitting in Bloemfontein dismissed an appeal by his office, which had sought to overturn a High Court ruling that permitted Goldfields Logistics (Pty) Ltd to proceed with a claim of more than R234 000 for road repair costs without giving the statutory notice normally required when suing an organ of state.
The ruling means that Goldfields can continue with its action on the basis of negotiorum gestio – a legal principle allowing a party to recover expenses incurred when voluntarily managing another’s affairs for their benefit.
Legal observers say the judgment could open the door for more claims of this nature, particularly in circumstances where failing infrastructure forces private entities to intervene at their own cost.
If the ruling stands without further challenge, it may narrow the circumstances in which the government can rely on procedural protections, such as prior service of notice under the Institution of Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act.
The MEC stopped short of indicating whether the provincial government would seek to escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court, only emphasising that the legal team would review possible next steps.
Government insiders suggest the administration may now weigh not only the legal strategy but also the operational and fiscal consequences of the court’s interpretation – especially at a time when poor road conditions are generating increasing public frustration. – Staff Reporter