Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has welcomed the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal of the interdict application to suspend the appointments of five trustees to the board of the Independent Development Trust (IDT).
The application was brought to the court by Black Forum SA and Izwi Labantu Forum.
“The ruling demonstrates, beyond doubt, that the Minister acted in the best interests of ethical governance at the IDT in opposing the application,” said the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure in a statement on Friday.
The Minister said the ruling is a victory for the IDT and the people it is meant to serve through the construction of social infrastructure across the country.
The IDT is a Schedule 2 state-owned entity which manages the implementation and delivery of critically needed social infrastructure programmes on behalf of the government. It reports to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure who is the shareholder representative.
“From the onset, it has been clear that there are a number of individuals… who are deeply concerned about the work we are doing to clean up the IDT and restore it to good governance after years of serious corruption allegations and maladministration.
“The victory in this court case, despite —the publication of fake news articles, falsified voice notes, and a coordinated social media campaign — is a great step forward in ensuring that individuals are brought to account who, I have no doubt, will have serious cases of corruption to answer for,” Macpherson said.
The Minister thanked his legal team for dealing decisively with the case from the outset to ensure that all legal prescripts were followed, leaving no opportunity for others to use legal means to stop or delay the work to clean up the IDT.
He added that the IDT board now enjoys the assurance that it can act with full legal authority.
READ | Macpherson welcomes IDT board appointments
-SAnews.gov.za
