Outa launches contempt of court application against Sanral and former CEO

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has lodged a contempt of court application against the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and its former CEO, Skhumbuzo Macozoma, for ignoring a Pretoria High Court order issued in November last year.

Long-standing case

The application arises from Sanral’s failure to comply with an order from the high court on 15 November 2021, to provide Outa with information it requested.

The information related to Sanral’s contracts with long-distance toll concessionaire, Trans African Concessions (TRAC), to operate the N4 toll road from Tshwane to Maputo.

Sanral had failed to oppose Outa’s court application and, once the order was granted, the parastatal failed to comply with that order.

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In its application, filed on 24 January, Outa wants Sanral and Macozoma to be declared to be in contempt of court, and for a suspended jail sentence for the former CEO to encourage compliance within 10 days.

Macozoma, who left Sanral in November 2021, was the CEO of the agency at the time of Outa’s court action.

PAIA request

The case dates back to June 2020 when Outa applied to Sanral, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), to get access to a list of specified information on the TRAC concession.

Sanral failed to respond to the request, which is legally deemed a refusal to comply. 

“Sanral failed to adhere to a court order we obtained against them for the disclosure of documentation relating to the concession contract of TRAC.

“This order was granted in our favour on 15 November 2021. They did nothing, hence we are forcing them to comply,” said Brendan Slade, Outa’s legal project manager in a statement.

Slade said in his affidavit that Sanral and Macozoma had “wilfully and mala fide [in bad faith] failed to comply with the order and provided no compelling reasons for such failure”.

“We want that information and we will pursue this matter to finality,” he said.

The matter was set down for hearing on 24 May 2022.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe

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