On 14 March 2011, the Minister of Trade and Industry delayed the application of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) to small and medium capacity municipalities. This was done by way of a notice in the Government Gazette. This might disappoint residents that face service delivery problems in small municipalities.

But, the validity of the delaying notice can be questioned. The CPA requires that the notice had to be published at least 20 business days before the CPA’s general effective date (31 March 2011). Since the notice was published after that deadline, it can be argued that the notice is invalid and that the CPA will in fact apply to all municipalities, despite their capacity. This situation will lead to some confusion and needs to be clarified.

Be that as it may, consumers in high capacity municipalities will soon have strong protection under the CPA. (High capacity municipalities include Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tshwane.) Residents in those municipalities will be able to file complaints with the National Consumer Commission if municipalities do not comply with this new legislation.

Consumers will also be able to hold a municipality liable for harm caused by defective or hazardous products supplied to a consumer. Obviously, the consumer will still have to prove its claim. However, it will not be necessary to prove that the municipality was negligent.

Written by Danie Strachan Senior Associate at Adams & Adams