Council, lawyers fail to perform

WITH reference to the article, "City writes off R1.7m bill for failed concert" (September 2), any first year law student should be able to tell you that there is a three year prescription period, but I think this goes further. The metro employs a number of legal officers and I wonder who gave the metro the legal opinion.

In terms of local government legislation all municipalities should have a contract management system in place. If the contract was managed properly, the claim would not have prescribed.

I am of the opinion that the legal officers who failed to manage the contract should be subjected to a disciplinary enquiry for failing to perform. The taxpayers cannot continue to foot the bill for inefficient public servants.

The municipal public accounts committee is also not without blame. It failed to exercise its oversight function properly.

Prof Hennie van As, director, Centre for Law in Action, NMMU