An interim interdict was granted to halt the payment pending an application to have the donation declared unlawful and/or unconstitutional. (Photo by Dino Lloyd/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
The North Gauteng high court has granted civil rights group AfriForum an urgent interdict preventing the department of international relations and cooperation from donating R50-million in humanitarian assistance to Cuba.
The interdict was granted by Judge Brenda Neukircher on Tuesday pending a review application that seeks to declare the donation unlawful or unconstitutional.
“Pending the final outcome … to review and set aside the relevant decision to donate an amount of R50-million to the government of Cuba … or the final outcome of proceedings to declare that the donation is unlawful and/or unconstitutional, the respondents are interdicted from paying over the relevant funds or any part thereof to the government of the Republic of Cuba/the Cuban people or any agent or intermediary,” said Neukircher in her ruling.
According to the department, the donation is legitimate in terms of the African Renaissance and International Co-Operation Fund Act.
The law was established and provided the framework and basis for the government “to identify and fund projects and programmes” aimed at enhancing relationships between South Africa and other countries, “particular African ones”, and “to promote democracy and good governance, the prevention and resolution of conflict, socio economic development and integration, and humanitarian assistance and human resource development”.
The international relations minister, Naledi Pandor, made a request for the money last year after receiving a letter in July from Cuban ambassador Rodolfo Benitez Verson asking for assistance “to address the shortage of food and medical supplies” in the country.
In a letter addressed to then minister of finance Tito Mboweni in August, Pandor wrote: “The Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to the crippling US economic blockade, has resulted in Cuba’s worst economic crisis in 30 years. This had led to chronic shortages of electricity and food, which have fuelled unprecedented protest action across Cuba, as public discontent was driven, among other factors, by long food lines, power cuts, and a critical shortage of medicine.”
According to court documents, the finance minister approved the R50-million just two days after receiving Pandor’s letter, and said in his approval letter: “… I propose that we consider a discussion as cabinet on how we can extend the financial assistance to Cuba beyond this requested assistance, which can be multi-year, considering the … financial situation of Cuba, which might take years to recover from. This high-level proposal must obviously be taken into account South Africa’s very constrained fiscal position and also the testy relations between Cuba and the United States.”
Neukircher ordered the respondents to pay the costs of the application, saying: “AfriForum represents the interests of the broad South African public. As they are successful in this application there is therefore no reason why they should be out of pocket.”
In a statement the lobby group welcomed the ruling against the “ludicrous donation amid a serious economic crisis [in South Africa]”.
Reiner Duvenage, campaign officer for strategy and content at AfriForum, said the organisation was “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.”