The City of Cape Town says it will take court action and declare an inter-governmental dispute if Co-operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka does not disband a task team set up to investigate service delivery in the city.

Shiceka's department has now put the hearings on hold until it receives legal advice on the matter.

Premier Helen Zille and Mayor Dan Plato likened the task team to the botched Erasmus Commission, which was set up by former premier Ebrahim Rasool to investigate claims of bribery and corruption against former city councillor Badih Chaaban.

The service delivery task team was established after Shiceka was told by Mitchells Plain residents in September that the city had cut off their water supply without warning.

At the time, Shiceka angered Zille by threatening to strip the province and the city of their powers if they did not provide basic services to the poor.

The task team's hearings were scheduled to run until next Friday, with councillors, residents, government officials and Zille all due to make presentations.

On Wednesday, the DA-led City of Cape Town snubbed the first hearing. Team convener Jazze Mokoena told the Cape Argus he was contacted by a city official an hour before the hearing was due to start and said that Plato had instructed staff not to attend any of the scheduled hearings.

Mokoena said he was told the withdrawal was partly based on the city's reservations about two of the task team members: former housing MEC Richard Dyantyi and Water and Environmental Affairs official Connie September.

Plato said he had received legal advice that the task team was unprocedural and unconstitutional.

"I have therefore issued an instruction to the city manager that staff may not participate in any way in the task team."

Plato said the city was not consulted about the appointment of the task team, as required by the principles of co-operative governance.

"We were merely informed (on October 12) that the minister had unilaterally 'decided to establish a task team which will comprise representatives from the three spheres of government'."

Plato said this disregarded the constitutional autonomy of the city.

Zille said she had met Plato and other city officials yesterday morning to discuss the implications of the task team and the legal advice they had sought.

"This followed on the fact that I received correspondence from the national minister yesterday, asking me to send a provincial delegation to the task team on November 12. I immediately took legal advice and was advised that this task team is illegal and unconstitutional. I was advised not to attend," said Zille.

She said she asked Plato whether he had received the same letter.

"It then turned out that a similar letter had been referred to officials in the utilities department without the mayor having seen it. He confirmed that neither he, nor the city manager, had been consulted prior to the establishment of the task team."

Zille said she then wrote to Shiceka, informing him of her legal advice, and also sent a copy to Plato's office.

"... We concluded that this was another illegal attempt to selectively target the City of Cape Town (as happened before under the Erasmus Commission)."

"I am absolutely amazed by the nonsense that is again being spouted. This is a new version of the Erasmus Commission - and it is politically motivated."

Zille said she was not even aware that Dyantyi and September were involved.

"This has nothing at all to do with individuals or personalities. It is about the principles of the constitution and the rule of law."

On Wednesday night, Mokoena said the ministry has decided to put the hearings on hold until they had received legal advice on Plato's statements and the city's non-appearance.