High Court to decide on controversial trustee appointments by Minister
The High Court in Pretoria is expected to hear the case against Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Dean Macpherson, over the recent appointment of five trustees to fill vacancies on the Independent Development Trust (IDT) board on Friday.
Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria is expected to hear the case against Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure over the appointment of five trustees to fill vacancies on the board Independent Development Trust (IDT) tomorrow (Friday).
This was after non-governmental organisations Black Forum South Africa (BFSA) and Izwi Labantu Forum (ILF) filed an urgent application for an interdict suspending the appointment of the five new trustees.
The organisations also challenge the appointment process of the new trustees in Part B of the application, which is expected to be heard at a later date, where they are seeking to review and set aside the appointment.
The organisations said the appointment of the members was unlawful, citing a lack of transparency, which was in contravention of the IDT Trust Deed and without a public participation process.
The organisations argued that this violated their rights to nominate candidates for the appointment of IDT trustees.
However, Minister Dean Macpherson argued the organisations did not complain that the five are not suitably qualified and any suggestion that they are not suitable and unlawfully appointed has no merit.
The hearing was set for Tuesday (April 22) but it was postponed for Friday after two judges requested that the matter should be re-scheduled.
The IDT has been in the spotlight since November 2024, after Macpherson instructed ITC chair Advocate Kwazi Mshengu to suspend the award of an alleged irregular and corrupt R880 million hospital oxygen plant tender managed by the IDT to three companies, with immediate effect.
Audit firm PwC was subsequently appointed to conduct the investigation.
In his affidavit, BFSA chief executive officer, Advocate Kgakgudi Morota, acknowledged that IDT experienced serious governance and performance difficulties which threatened its existence. He said as a result, a new board of trustees had to be appointed as part of solution but the manner in which they were appointed was not transparent, adding that no information was provided to the public about the appointment.
Morota said Macpherson acted in a manner which does not promote accountability in the public administration.
He said the minister's decision is irrational because it is not connected to the purpose of appointing people based on their ability, in a fair manner which remedies the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation.
'Minister could have not rationally concluded that the new trustees were the most qualified candidates without giving the general public, including the applicants' (BLSA and ILF) members to make nominations,' said Morota.
He said the decision is also not procedurally rational because Macpherson did not follow the prescribed procedure.
The organisations also want the court to suspend letters of authority issued by the Master of the High Court in favour of the five trustees. They also want the court to interdict and restrain the five from performing the functions and exercising any of the powers of the board of trustees of the IDT.
Morota said that insofar as Macpherson's decision is unlawful, it follows that of the Master's decision to issue letters to the new trustees to start acting as members of the board of trustees of the IDT, adding that it was also unlawful.
'This is because the Master cannot lawfully empowered to issue letters of authority to trustees who were not lawfully appointed in the first place,' said Morota.
Morota added that the BLSA raised its concerns with Macpherson and requested him not to proceed with the appointment but he refused.
In his answering affidavit, Macpherson said there was no merit in the application.
He said the five trustees were chose from a list of names provided to him by the board.
Macpherson invited the organisations to withdraw their application, saying they must appreciate that he appointed the five trustees because vacancies existed.
However, in his reply, Morota denied that the contents of Macpherson's answering affidavit are true and correct, insisting that the appointment of the five trustees is unlawful.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za
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