Johannesburg – The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, has lost his bid for leave to appeal after the Pretoria high court dismissed his application with costs on Monday.
Patel launched the leave to appeal the judgment handed down to him and his department after he had appointed Zandile Brown, who is one of his officials, to be an acting chairperson of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
Judge Norman Davis reviewed and set aside the appointment of Zandile Brown as acting chairperson with effect from December 1, last year.
However, Patel appealed the matter, and this week, after he seeks leave to appeal the judgment, his application was dismissed with costs.
The court said that Patel’s appointment of Brown was invalid and did not comply with the law, adding that the official was also a representative of the minister and an employee in the department of trade, industry and competition.
Last year December, the EFF welcomed the high court’s judgment which overturned Patel’s decision to appoint Brown after Davis declared any extension of Brown’s appointment as invalid.
Patel and his department were told to foot the bill for the application launched by the NLC, challenging Brown’s appointment and the minister’s attempt to seek leave to appeal.
The commission said not only was the minister not entitled in law to appoint Brown, but it was an irregular step.
Brown was appointed in her acting capacity by Patel after the term of the former chairperson Professor Alfred Nevhutanda came to an end.
Brown was appointed in the acting position without any recommendations from the parliamentary portfolio committee on trade and industry.
Davis said an open and transparent process was not followed by the minister, as stipulated in the Act.
The judge pointed out that the minister went ahead and appointed Brown even before he told the portfolio committee of his intentions to do so, which was deemed unethical and problematic.
Davis in his judgment in December had said the appointment of Brown was clearly outside the provisions of the Act.
By Bongani Mdakane
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