“Unacceptable” delays in the appointment of a Services Appeal Tribunal in Mpumalanga may finally be addressed, after the matter was escalated to the Public Protector by the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa), the property lobby group said on Friday.

“Despite a year of hard lobbying with the province, property developers still have no recourse to appeal services contributions, despite a legal right to do so,” said Sapoa CEO Neil Gopal.

“Sapoa believes the situation affects both existing and potential investors, and requires immediate action to rectify.”

A Services Appeal Tribunal would allow property developers to appeal decisions made by municipalities and obtain independent resolution.

The organisation said in a statement that “internal government restructuring” in Mpumalanga appeared to be the “main culprit” for the delay, but the process of nominating tribunal members “should get under way this month”.

It advanced that, when assurances from the province that a tribunal would be appointed by the end of November 2013 were not honoured, Sapoa escalated the matter to the Office of the Public Protector, after which an investigation was launched by the Public Protector in March this year.

Shortly thereafter, in April, the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration said the tribunal was to be appointed shortly, citing that internal departmental restructuring had caused the delay.

Indications were that the tribunal positions would be advertised later this month, a department spokesperson told Sapoa, which would be followed by the evaluation and presentation of candidates to the Provincial Executive Council.

“A tribunal is critical to the objective resolution of disputes between developers and municipalities, and safeguards the right to appeal enshrined in our Constitution,” said Gopal, adding that Sapoa would continue to monitor progress closely.

“Not only are individual property developments being held up, but job creation, future investment decisions and rates revenues for the local authorities are all being compromised by the absence of a tribunal,” he said.

Sapoa was alerted to the situation in Mpumalanga last year when local members pointed out that there had been no tribunal in place for over three years, despite it being provided for in Section 124 of the Town Planning and Township Ordinance 1986.

Further, Gopal noted that the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act No. 3 of 2000, viewed a failure to act as “an administrative action that can be taken to court if all internal processes for appeal are exhausted”.