AfriForum to take government to court over R50m donation to Cuba

Lobby group AfriForum on Friday said it would approach the courts to obtain an urgent interdict to prevent government from donating R50 million to the Cuban government for hunger relief.

R50 million donation

Earlier this month, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes, informed parliament’s portfolio committee on international relations about the relief refunds.

Botes said the donation was due to the socio-economic challenges faced by Cuba as battles United States sanctions that have posed a threat to food security in the country.

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“The matter about the unilateral sanctions that have been put against the people of Cuba have led to large-scale social challenges and food insecurity in Cuba.

“This is something in terms of our foreign policy value system that we obviously can’t ignore and it’s for that reason that we have allocated R50 million for the issues of food security purposes,” he said.

The announcement outraged many South Africans, who questioned why a country with high unemployment and poverty levels saw it fit to allocate millions of rand to Cuba.

AfriForum on Friday said it would approach the courts over the matter because it believes the donation is irrational and illegal.

READ MORE: Uproar over South Africa’s R50 million donation to Cuba

The organisation’s campaigns officer for strategy and content, Reiner Duvenage, said they would also ask the courts to review and overturn government’s decision to donate the funds to Cuba.

Duvenage said earlier this month they demanded answers from the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) about the reasons for the donation to Cuba.

AfriForum’s legal action

Dirco responded and explained the food security situation in Cuba. But AfriForum said it was not satisfied with the reasons provided, and would therefore proceed with legal action.

“AfriForum insisted that no funds be transferred to Cuba since no reasons for this decision have been communicated to the public.

“The organisation also demanded an explanation of where the money for this donation comes from and how it can be justified in South Africa’s current socio-economic context,” Duvenage said in a statement.

He said the decision to donate money to Cuba was made without any parliamentary review and compliance with the Public Finance Management Act.

“In the current socio-economic conditions, it is outrageous to donate such a huge amount to another country. In fact, it is an absolute insult to the citizens of the country.”

Feeding schemes

Meanwhile on Thursday, food relief organisations in South Africa sent a petition with more than 16,000 signatures to Dirco over the donation to Cuba.

The organisations, which include 60 hunger relief organisations, handed the petition in an empty pot in protest against the donation.

They believe that the South African government should be focusing on the millions of citizens who go to sleep hungry every night instead of focusing on foreign countries.

“We are faced with the devastating effects of hunger every day and the thought that R50 million is being given to any country other than our own by our own government is beyond comprehension,” said non-profit organisation, Chefs with Compassion.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe. Additional reporting by Vhahangwele Nemakonde.

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