Johannesburg – Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane welcomed the Constitutional Court’s decision on Friday of the joint Solidarity/AfriForum application to appeal and set aside the use of broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) criteria as part of the department’s R20 million Covid-19 Tourism Relief Fund for small business.
“The Constitutional Court has considered the application for leave to appeal directly to this court on an urgent basis,” said the country’s apex court on Friday.
“It has concluded that the application should be dismissed as it is not in the interest of justice to hear it at this stage, as there are insufficient grounds raised for a direct appeal to this court on an urgent basis.”
The court did not attach any costs to the order.
This decision by the Constitutional Court is the Tourism Minister’s second victory within a month in the case brought by trade union Solidarity in association with civil rights organisation AfriForum.
AfriForum has said that the battle is not over and it now plans to take the case to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The two groups took their fight to the Constitutional Court after they lost the initial battle in the Pretoria High Court late in April.
