Durban – The eThekwini Municipality has set aside R12.8 million to pay specialist lawyers, even though it has its own legal department with 28 legal advisers.
This comes as the city faces a barrage of civil lawsuits ranging from potholes to libel.
A report tabled before the finance and procurement committee meeting laid out plans to brief 22 law firms, costing more than R580 000 each.
The cases include litigation, conveyancing, commercial law, labour law and town planning.
The city’s legal bills have escalated from R600 000 in 2012 to R5.9 million last year after an increase in insurance claims against the municipality that were handed to private attorneys to resolve.
Municipal spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa said the legal department’s work was divided into four main categories: litigation, labour law, legislative drafting and legal support…
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