Tourism Department to oppose court application regarding Equity Fund

The Department of Tourism has announced its intention to oppose a court application to have the government’s R1.2 billion Tourism Equity Fund scrapped.

Last month, trade union Solidarity and lobby group AfriForum were granted an interdict by the High Court in Pretoria, stopping the Fund from processing applications for bailout funding from black-owned tourism enterprises that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fund only allows tourism businesses that are 51% black-owned and managed to apply for assistance.

Court battle looms over SA Tourism Equity Fund criteria:

[embedded content]

Solidarity and AfriForum say this discriminates against white-owned companies and is therefore illegal and unconstitutional.

Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane was speaking during a media briefing.

“As our legal team prepares to represent us in another court battle on transformation of the tourism sector, we do so with our unwavering resolve that the Fund is a necessary intervention within the constitutional values and imperatives for the creation of an equal society, tangibly addressing the imbalance of our country’s past,” says Kubayi-Ngubane.

Launch of the Tourism Equity Fund: Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane

[embedded content]