HBR (Hola Bon Renaissance) Foundation v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others

The applicant, a non-profit voluntary association, applied to the Municipal Demarcation Board in October 2010 seeking the establishment of a separate local municipality for Soweto and the redetermination of the boundaries of the City of Johannesburg. The Board responded that boundary changes were suspended until after the 2011 local government elections and that, in terms of section 22 of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act 27 of 1998, such a request had to be submitted by the Minister, a provincial MEC, or a municipality. Dissatisfied, the applicant demanded the resignation of the Board members and later requested the President to remove them from office. When no response was received, the applicant launched an urgent application directly in the Constitutional Court seeking to interdict the President from announcing the election date, compel the establishment of a tribunal to investigate the removal of the Board members, and direct a reconstituted Board to consider the Soweto municipality proposal.

The application was dismissed. No order as to costs was made.

The case reaffirms the Constitutional Court’s strict approach to direct access, emphasising that it is an exceptional remedy requiring compliance with procedural rules and reasonable prospects of success. It clarifies the respective constitutional and statutory roles of provincial governments and the Municipal Demarcation Board in the establishment of municipalities and boundary determinations.