Dispute over Cape Town city logo in court

THE ANC is convinced it has built a formidable case against the City of Cape Town, which it accused of “arrogantly” going over the heads of residents when it adopted its new logo last year.

The party’s chief whip in the Western Cape, Xolani Sotashe, said an application to have the council’s resolution to overhaul the city’s rebranding declared invalid would most likely be successful.

This application was heard in the Western Cape High Court as both parties submitted their heads of argument yesterday. The ANC revealed they had lodged the case against the city after it emerged that the decision to change the logo had not been opened for public comment.

The controversial new logo and corporate identity were approved in February last year, despite strong resistance and warnings from opposition parties that the decision could blow up in the city’s face.

It was revealed that the city had forked out more than R310 000 for the new design.

In his argument, the party’s lawyer, William Mokhari, said that just as changing the names of streets required the public’s participation, so should changing “the face of the city”.

“The logo is part of (the residents’) identity, why should they not have their say?”

But the city’s lawyers fired back, pointing out that nowhere in the Municipal Sys- tems Act did it state that changing the city’s logo would require input from the public.

Judge Rosheni Allie said she would reserve her judgment until a later date.

Mayor Patricia de Lille’s spokeswoman, Priya Reddy, said: “We do respect the court proceedings and await the outcome.

“The rollout of our new brand identity has been highly successful and is now an integral part of the organisation,” she added.