NATIONAL NEWS - NGO AfriForum and trade union Solidarity, in separate urgent review applications, took the Minister of Tourism to court in 2020 for introducing a broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) compliance component into the eligibility scoring system for Covid-19 relief funding from the Tourism Relief Fund.
The Pretoria High Court combined the two applications and dismissed the joint application in April 2020.
The two parties took the matter on appeal, and the Supreme Court of Appeal, in a judgment handed down on September 22, 2021, overturned the high court’s judgment.
The respondents, which included the Department of Tourism, are directed to pay the costs of the applicants, including the costs of two counsel.
In essence
The court held that the minister’s exercise of power in regard to introducing a B-BBEE eligibility component constituted ‘administrative action’, as defined in the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA), and was thus subject to review.
The SCA found that the minister was not legally obliged to include the Tourism Sector B-BBEE Code in the qualification criteria, and her decision was consequently unlawful.
The SCA also held that funds already disbursed from the Tourism Relief Fund cannot be recovered.
It is to be noted that all the funds have already been disbursed.
