THE civil rights organisation AfriForum on Tuesday obtained an urgent interdict preventing the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) from making a R50 million donation to Cuba.
AfriForum said in a statement that was pleased that the court ruled in its favour against the ‘ludicrous’ donation amid a serious economic crisis.
Cuba is said to be facing chronic shortages of food, fuel, medicine and electricity and according to DIRCO, the international relations department argued in court that it was well within its right to donate the money through its African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund.
The announcement of the intended donation was made by Dirco Deputy Minister Alvin Botes, on February 2, to the department’s parliamentary portfolio committee. It gave the ministry the go-ahead, saying it understood and valued the historical-political connections between South Africa and Cuba.
The successful interdict represented the first part of AfriForum’s legal action against the donation.
The second part will involve submitting a review application at a later date to overturn the government’s decision to donate the funds to Cuba.
In addition to granting the interdict, the court ordered the respondents to pay the costs of the application.
According to Judge Neukircher, AfriForum represents the broader interests of the public and there is no reason why AfriForum should be out of pocket.
“We are pleased that we have managed to stop this unlawful and shameful donation in its tracks. We are now optimistic that our review application will succeed in making a final end to the matter. AfriForum pledges to continue its fight against outrageous and wasteful expenditure which is squandering taxpayers’ money,” says Reiner Duvenage, Campaign Officer for strategy and content at AfriForum.
- Inside Politics
