Union takes on minister over corona funding stance

SOLIDARITY yesterday opened a case against Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni for what it said was a race-based relief programme for small businesses during the lockdown.

The trade union laid several charges at Lyttelton police station, including perjury. It accused the minister of going against her assurance in court papers that race played no role in the criteria for assisting small businesses.

The organisation said it would not stand by while Ntshavheni made a mockery of the legal process.

“We cannot just leave it at that when a minister lies in court documents. Solidarity withdrew a court case against the minister and her department based on what she undertook under oath,” its chief executive, Dr Dirk Hermann, said.

The union had filed complaints against the departments of Small Business Development and Tourism on March 25, saying both had indicated that BEE would be a requirement to qualify for relief funds.

Small Business Development had then assured Solidarity, under oath, that this was not the case, and it did not continue with the matter.

“The case against the Department of Tourism was heard in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on April 28,” Hermann said.

“On the day the lawsuit against the Department of Tourism ended, the minister changed her story again.”

Yesterday, he said Ntshavheni, in a portfolio committee meeting, acknowledged that BEE was a requirement for small businesses to qualify for relief funds, thus contradicting the court documents in the hands of Solidarity. The following day the union had sent her a letter insisting that the allocation of relief funds should not be based on race.

“Solidarity is of the opinion that it has no choice but to proceed with a criminal charge. Granting relief aid on the basis of race is still bizarre,” Hermann said.

“We are not going to leave it at that. We have laid a criminal charge against the minister. We will also lodge an urgent appeal to the Constitutional Court and file a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.”

The department, in response, said it would look at the case documents before responding.

It added that so far, 665 businesses had already benefited from their debt relief scheme across all sectors, and this would help maintain about 10 000 jobs.