Sisulu ordered to pay up

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has refuted suggestions that South Africa has sold sniper rifles to Libya. Photo: Independent Newspapers

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has refuted suggestions that South Africa has sold sniper rifles to Libya. Photo: Independent Newspapers

Published Feb 9, 2011

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Minister of Defence Lindiwe Sisulu has been ordered to pay costs associated with an Afriforum application for information regarding the proposed military training of ANC Youth League members, Afriforum said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Willie Spies said a judge at the High Court in Pretoria found that the lobby group acted appropriately by submitting a court application when Sisulu failed to respond to its letters on the proposal.

When the urgent application for an interdict against military training for political organisations was heard in January, the minister then responded and said there was no such military training planned.

Training planned for Saldanha Bay in September and October of 2010 had also been postponed indefinitely, rendering the court application redundant, Afriforum said in a statement following the application.

That left the matter of costs.

Afriforum said it was less about getting Sisulu to pay the money, than it was about ministers ignoring written questions put to them in terms of national legislation.

Spies said Afriforum welcomed the costs ruling and was looking forward to continuing to ensure accountability and responsibility by ministers and public officials.

Comment was not immediately available from the department. -

Sapa

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