Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Twitter@phalamafhungo
Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Twitter@phalamafhungo
With South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal having ruled this week that the Department of Tourism’s criteria relating to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) compliance being requisite for businesses devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown regulations is unlawful, the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) have said that they will continue to fight against “racial prejudice” from government towards small businesses.
Solidarity and civil rights organisation AfriForum opposed the criteria of the Tourism Equity Fund in their application handed over to the country’s apex court, with the ruling demanding that the criteria be scrapped.
The verdict was delivered against the Department, with Judge Plasket resolving that former Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane committed an “error of law” and that it is not legally appropriate to allocate funds based on BEE requirements.
Tourism Equity Fund committed ‘Gross exploitation’ of applicants
“We are delighted with the verdict. It is a victory for everyone in the tourism sector who has lost their revenue and businesses as a result of the government’s implementations of the Disaster Management Act, but also whom the government has rejected based on the colour of their skin,” said Anton van der Bijl, Head of Legal Matters at Solidarity.
“Solidarity and AfriForum were persistent, saying that the virus does not choose its victims based on the colour of their skin and that the government has no right to choose whom they will help based on this criteria. We simply could not allow this gross exploitation of people in need by the government.”
FF Plus ‘to continue applying pressure to tourism department
Michal Groenewald, the FF Plus chief spokesperson for the shadow Tourism portfolio, said that the COVID-19 pandemic “effectively levelled the ‘racial playing field’ in the tourism industry” and that the continued implementation of BEE regulations amounts to “malicious discrimination”.
“The FF Plus will keep applying pressure to ensure that the TEF provides aid to all SMMEs that were affected by the pandemic, without any racial prejudice,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
“It is an absolute shame that the ANC government is still clinging to its racial obsession and even tried to exploit a pandemic to further its immoral political agendas.”
