LISTEN | Forget R50m, Dirco planning to give R350m to Cuba: AfriForum

AfriForum’s campaign officer for strategy and content Reiner Duvenage says court records in the case lodged against the department of international relations & cooperation (Dirco), show the grand total of its planned donation to Cuba to actually be R350m and not R50m,  as was initially reported.

Duvenage said this became clear after the civil rights organisation’s legal team asked for the court record as part of its review application.

Listen to what he had to say: 

In March, AfriForum obtained an emergency interdict to delay the donation, when judge J Neukircher of the Pretoria high court found that Cuba had not asked for funds but humanitarian aid in the form of medical supplies and food. 

Last week the same court rejected a leave to appeal application lodged by Dirco against AfriForum’s interdict. However, minister Naledi Pandor has denied that the country ever planned to give R50m in cash to Cuba and has claimed that it only planned to offer humanitarian aid. 

Pandor criticised the likes of AfriForum and Freedom Front Plus for not honouring the relationships formed between SA and its key international allies.

Cuba is said to have chronic shortages of food, fuel, medicine and electricity. However, AfriForum argues that SA’s need is more pressing. 

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