Share

Mineral resources department facing as many as 70 legal battles

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy told Members of Parliament on Friday morning that the department as well as its entities could have as many as 70 ongoing and pending matters of litigation before the courts.

However, the department could only provide details on the litigation where the department directly was the applicant or respondent - meaning that it could not provide details on litigation affecting the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF).

Mineral resources and energy director general Thabo Mokoena told Parliament's portfolio committee on mineral resources and energy that the department – along with its two predecessors, the Department of Mineral Resources and the Department of Energy – received nine judgments since January of 2018.

Nuclear board moves

Mokoena unpacked how former energy minister Jeff Radebe's decision to dissolve the South Africa Nuclear Energy Corporation board was challenged by former Necsa board chair Kelvin Kemm, suspended group CEO Phumzile Tshelane, and the former chair of the board's audit and compliance subcommittee, Pamela Bosman.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria set aside the minister's decision to remove the Kemm and Tshelane in August. Necsa's new board appointments were not affected by the judgement.

"Two judgments deal with the (former) minister (Radebe's) removal of directors of the Necsa board, although the first judgment is in favour of the minister and determines his actions to be executive in nature. Later the Kemm judgement finds that the decision to remove a director was an administrative action," Mokoena said.

What about the oil reserves?

Committee member for the Democratic Alliance Kevin Mileham asked the department why they had not provided any details on the matter of the CEF and the SFF, to which senior legal officer Frans Nkosi said the matter was being dealt with directly by the affected entities, and not the department.

"It is correct that this matter is with the CEF and the SFF. If the matter needs to be reported, we would need to get some information. But it is not a matter that the department itself is dealing with. The matter is in court and the legal team has been established," said Nkosi.

In March, the portfolio committee on energy was briefed on the annual report of the CEF and its subsidiaries, which include national oil company Petro-SA and the SFF. The matter relates to former energy minister Tina Joematt-Pettersson's alleged role in the sale of oil reserves.

An investigation was launched into the sale of 10 million barrels of oil reserves by the SFF in 2015. The CEF filed a court application in 2018 with the Western Cape High Court to set aside the sale on the grounds that the disposal was unlawful, invalid and unconstitutional.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
908.75
+1.3%
Palladium
1,014.28
+1.3%
Gold
2,221.04
+1.2%
Silver
24.86
+0.9%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders