Pandor: Govt studying court order against R50m donation to Cuba
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor says her department is studying the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria on a planned R50 million donation to Cuba.
Lobby group AfriForum has obtained an urgent interdict, preventing government from making the donation.
The department last month said it was making the donation through the African Renaissance Fund on humanitarian grounds as the island is suffering food, fuel, and medicine shortages due to US sanctions.
But there's been criticism, with some saying the money should be used to help South Africans, especially with the negative impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the economy.
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Pandor says the judgment is an interim order and the matter will return to court next month.
"We are consulting our legal representatives and preparing our heads of arguments. And we want to make it clear that the African Renaissance fund does not provide money to any beneficiary.
"We provide humanitarian aid, be it food, medical supplies, or other forms of support, no money is provided and the funds lie within the budget of the Department of International Relations and cooperation and no other department."
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