Minister must pay up for application for information on sport quotas

1 March 2017

Trade union Solidarity and the civil rights organisation AfriForum said today that the Minister of Sport and Recreation must pay for the application brought by these two organisations in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia), to compel the Ministry to disclose information with regard to its transformation targets.

According to Johan Kruger, Deputy Chief Executive of Solidarity, the Ministry, in anticipation of today’s court session, sent along the requested information with regard to its transformation targets last night, while the court today ordered the Minister of Sport and the South African Rugby Union to pay the costs of Solidarity and AfriForum. “Although we are still processing all the documentation, it is already clear that the way in which transformation targets are applied in fact comes down to a quota system, something explicitly prohibited by the Constitution, the Employment Equity Act as well as various international sports conventions. We will therefore undoubtedly bring further legal action to put an end the use of quotas in sport,” Kruger said.

According to Kallie Kriel, Chief Executive of AfriForum, the application of sport quotas in South Africa contravenes several international agreements signed and ratified by South Africa. “It is ironic that the governing party is now applying quotas when, in 1970, it advocated at international bodies that sportsmen and women should be judged on merit. Therefore we stick to our position that merit should be the only factor taken into consideration when choosing sports teams,” Kriel said.

Issued by Johan Kruger, Solidarity: Deputy Chief Executive, 1 March 2017