Promise of fair distribution of legal work
ATTORNEYS in Nelson Mandela Bay have been given an assurance that the municipality will change its legal panel to include more blackowned law firms and ensure cases are evenly distributed.
The meeting at the Port Elizabeth City Hall between municipal officials and the Attorneys’ Association of South Eastern Cape follows an outcry from black lawyers, who felt the municipality had excluded them when distributing work.
The black lawyers asked for a fair share in the municipal legal budget, which amounted to R56-million in the past financial year.
Attended by nearly 60 legal practitioners, the meeting addressed concerns about the distribution of work among firms and the composition of the panel as well as transformation within the profession.
Municipal budget and treasury political head Retief Odendaal said the composition of the panel had been submitted to the mayoral committee earlier this year.
“There must be a fair distribution of work in Nelson Mandela Bay – there is a need for us to be as efficient as possible,” he said.
“Where there is money that needs to be distributed, it has to be distributed fairly, and that unfortunately hasn’t always happened.”
Odendaal was referring to lawyers in Despatch and Uitenhage who had been excluded in the past.
Zolile Ngqeza, of Zolile Ngqeza Attorneys, said the meeting gave them hope their issues would be resolved.
“We appreciate this meeting and are happy that the municipality is acknowledging the faults. We only hope that this is not just lip service.
“We hope they will rectify these issues, especially in relation to briefing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bukky Olowookorun, of Bukky Olowookorun Attorneys, said she was concerned that being on the panel meant they had to turn down private work.
“I am very concerned that while being selected to be on the panel could be an opportunity, it could also be the downfall of a small firm, the main reason being that you have to turn down private work while there is no guarantee of getting work from the municipality,” she said.