Another legal blow for R50m Cuba donation, but government won’t stop trying to give away our money

The government always seems to miss the mark with social issues, with experts saying SA’s healthcare system was in shambles and needed the R50 million that was donated to Cuba.

South Africa needs the money more than Cuba

The SA Medical Association’s (Sama) Dr Angelique Coetzee said the critical shortage of medical professionals was not only worsened by delays in intern placements but also the lack of budgets.

Coetzee said the government constantly failed to either pay doctors and nurses enough – or at all – but jumped to donate millions to Cuba, which that country never even asked for.

“Before that money leaves our country, we must, first of all, make sure that our own doctors and our own patients are being looked after,” she said. “Only if government then has money left over, can they use it to assist other countries – but only after we’ve fixed our issues.”

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga agreed with Coetzee and said it was a big blow as it was “the first case where a budget for this kind of foreign relations was actually introduced”.

“Donations have to make sense for the nation. It has to be in line with this country’s priorities,” he added.

“The Cuban donation is a big precedent. It can open a floodgate of others.”

Legal attempts to halt the Cuba donation

The application by the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) for leave to appeal against a court interdict which AfriForum obtained against the planned R50 million donation to Cuba was rejected by the Constitutional Court.

In March, AfriForum obtained an emergency interdict, when Judge Brenda Neukircher in the High Court in Pretoria found Cuba had not asked for funds but aid in the form of medical supplies and food.

Cuba was said to have chronic shortages of food, fuel, medicine and electricity. However, AfriForum argued SA’s needs were more pressing.

ALSO READ: Dirco suffers another court blow over R50 million Cuba donation

The Democratic Alliance’s Willem Frederick Farber in February questioned International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor in the National Assembly about the donation, saying with record high unemployment figures and persistent levels of poverty, it could have been put to better use at home.

But Pandor said the Cuban government called on SA and other partner countries in their hour of need in July last year.

“Cuba’s worst economic crisis in 30 years was caused by the devastation of the Covid pandemic and further exacerbated by the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba by the US,” she said.

“Cuba, as a result, is experiencing chronic shortages of food, fuel, medicine and electricity.”

‘Reciprocity and historical friendship’

She said SA responded to this call in the “context of reciprocity and its historical friendship and solidarity with Cuba which was cemented [through] Cuba’s sacrifices during our struggle for freedom”.

“Cuba also responded without hesitance to South Africa’s call for medical professionals to assist during the first months of the pandemic in South Africa,” she said.

ALSO READ: R350 million deal with Cuba is ‘good for South Africans’, says Dirco

On 17 March, Judge Neukircher declared that the donation was not only unlawful, but unconstitutional.

“The first, second, third and fourth respondents are interdicted from paying over the relevant funds or any part thereof to the government of Cuba/the Cuban people or any agent or intermediary,” she said.

Reiner Duvenage, AfriForum’s campaign officer for strategy and content, said everything indicated that AfriForum’s review application to overturn the decision to make the donation would now proceed. He said they were optimistic this review application would finally put an end to “this bizarre and irrational donation”.

“The fact that Dirco was attempting to appeal the interdict shows how desperate the department is to pay the funds to Cuba,” Duvenage said. “This, while the country’s people find themselves in an extremely desperate economic situation.”