Outa guns for city boss

LEGAL ACTION: WATCHDOG SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR USINDISO FIRE

- Marizka Coetzer

Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) is seeking legal action to declare a former top City of Joburg official a delinquent director in order for her to account for the Usindiso building fire that claimed at least 76 lives.

Outa executive director advocate Stefanie Fick has confirmed the papers were served on former City of Joburg Property Company (JPC) CEO Helen Botes last week.

Fick said Outa wants Botes to be declared a delinquent director firstly and, most importantly, because of the Usindiso building fire.

"This action is based on the JPC's failure to manage its buildings, resulting in the deadly Usindiso building fire of 31 August, 2023," she said.

"This is Outa's second delinquent director action, following the precedent-setting declaration of former SAA [South African Airways] chair Dudu Myeni as a delinquent director in May 2020."