OUTA guns for Joburg Property Company’s Helen Botes

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has taken legal action to have Helen Botes, a long-serving executive at the City of Joburg Property Company (JPC), declared a delinquent director.

The Johannesburg High Court application, filed on 29 July 2025, was served on Botes on 13 August.

The JPC, a municipal entity wholly owned by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), is cited as the second defendant, with the CoJ named as the third.

Although OUTA is not seeking direct relief against them, both are listed as interested parties because Botes remains registered as a JPC director with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

Botes, who led the JPC as CEO from 2008 to 2024, is accused by OUTA of “gross abuse” of her position, including misconduct linked to two major controversies: the deadly Usindiso building fire and unlawful Covid-19 procurement.

The Usindiso building, owned by the CoJ since 1954 and managed by JPC since its establishment in 2000, was destroyed by fire on 31 August 2023, killing at least 76 people.

The Khampepe Commission found the building had long been in a disastrous state, not zoned for residential use but occupied by vulnerable residents. It cited multiple violations of emergency, health, and building safety laws.

The commission recommended that JPC’s board take action against Botes for “total disregard” in managing the property despite being aware of its condition since at least 2019.

OUTA says neither Botes nor the JPC challenged these findings. In court papers, the organisation argues that her failure to act inflicted harm not only on the JPC and CoJ but also on the victims and survivors of the fire.

Covid-19 procurement scandal

The second pillar of OUTA’s case involves R18.6 million in irregular Covid-19 procurement. During the April–July 2020 lockdown, the JPC contracted four companies for deep cleaning and sanitising services without a competitive bidding process.

According to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), none of the firms had relevant experience, and the services were never delivered.

The SIU referred the matter for civil litigation and disciplinary action against Botes and other officials.

OUTA says this conduct breached municipal procurement rules, the Municipal Finance Management Act, and Disaster Management Act regulations, which require transparent, cost-effective and lawful spending.

“Not this time,” says OUTA

“Public officials entrusted with life-and-death responsibilities cannot be allowed to walk away from catastrophes without consequences,” said OUTA executive director Stefanie Fick.

“The law is clear, and so is the evidence. Helen Botes’s failures cost lives, and accountability is not optional — it is mandatory.”

The defendants have 10 court days from service to indicate their intention to oppose the matter.

OUTA says the application is brought in the public interest under section 162(5) of the Companies Act.

This provision obliges a court to declare a director delinquent if they have grossly abused their position, acted with gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or breach of trust.

If the court agrees, Botes could be barred from serving as a director of any company for up to seven years, or for life in severe cases.

OUTA’s track record

This is not OUTA’s first high-profile delinquency case.

In 2020, after a four-year legal battle, the organisation succeeded in having former South African Airways chair Dudu Myeni declared a delinquent director for life.

That case, which cost R6.2 million, established OUTA’s legal standing to bring such applications in the public interest.

Now, OUTA says, the principle is the same: to ensure that those entrusted with public assets are held to the highest standards of governance, and that failure to meet them carries real consequences.