Mbombela High Court ordered to evacuate immediately | Lowvelder

The Mpumalanga High Court must evacuate its offices immediately.
This according to a prohibition order that was served on the Department of Justice (DoJ) by the national Department of Labour (DoL) last week after it was found that the building did not comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act due to several health and structural issues.

An emergency meeting was held on Saturday, which the Mpumalanga High Court’s judge president, Judge Segopotje Sheila Mphahlele, the DoJ, the DoL, the Department of Public Works, the Independent Development Trust as well as representatives of the Public Servants Association, among others, attended.
During hours of negotiations, the DoJ asked for the prohibition order to be suspended for seven days. The DoL eventually caved in and said it would consider the request over the weekend.

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However, in a letter to the DoJ, which was sent out at about 14:00 today, November 4, the DoL rejected the DoJ’s a desperate plea.
In a statement issued by the DoJ’s spokesperson, Kgalalelo Masibi, on Saturday, he confirmed that the court had been ordered to close down, but that the department would present a report on how to resolve the issues raised.

Besides the structural and health issues, such as leaking toilets and roofs, a lack of air conditioning and broken lifts, the most serious concern was that the building was being occupied illegally.

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In its letter replying to the DoJ’s request for an extension, the DoL said an engineer has still to confirm whether the building structure adheres to building codes for safety and performance.

In November 2019, the City of Mbombela issued a temporary occupancy certificate to the DoJ. This certificate was only valid for a month and it expired after 30 days. This means the DoJ is occupying the building illegally.