Case Law[2023] ZAGPJHC 316South Africa
Dovepire Properties (Pty) Ltd v Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (18482/2022) [2023] ZAGPJHC 316 (12 April 2023)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
12 April 2023
Judgment
begin wrapper
begin container
begin header
begin slogan-floater
end slogan-floater
- About SAFLII
About SAFLII
- Databases
Databases
- Search
Search
- Terms of Use
Terms of Use
- RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds
end header
begin main
begin center
# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
You are here:
SAFLII
>>
Databases
>>
South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
>>
2023
>>
[2023] ZAGPJHC 316
|
Noteup
|
LawCite
sino index
## Dovepire Properties (Pty) Ltd v Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (18482/2022) [2023] ZAGPJHC 316 (12 April 2023)
Dovepire Properties (Pty) Ltd v Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (18482/2022) [2023] ZAGPJHC 316 (12 April 2023)
Download original files
PDF format
RTF format
make_database: source=/home/saflii//raw/ZAGPJHC/Data/2023_316.html
sino date 12 April 2023
FLYNOTES:
TENDER AND INTERIM INTERDICT
ADMINISTRATIVE
– Tender – Interim interdict – Lease agreement
pursuant to tender – Respondent intending
to cancel lease on
grounds of alleged irregularities and to blacklist applicant –
Lease agreement remaining in effect
until set aside by court of
law – Proper procedure not followed for blacklisting –
Irreparable harm – Interim
interdicts granted.
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH
AFRICA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG DIVISION,
JOHANNESBURG
CASE NO: 18482/2022
NOT REPORTABLE
NOT OF INTEREST TO
OTHER JUDGES
REVISED
In the matter between:
DOVEPIRE PROPERTIES
(PTY) LTD
APPLICANT
and
INSURANCE SECTOR
EDUCATION AND
RESPONDENT
TRAINING AUTHORITY
JUDGMENT
MAHALELO J:
Introduction
[1]
The applicant is Dovepire Properties (Pty) Ltd, a private company
registered in accordance
with the Company laws of the Republic of
South Africa. The respondent is the Insurance Sector Education and
Training Authority,
a legal entity constituted in terms of the
Skills
Development Act 97 of 1998
, as amended.
Relief claimed
[2]
The applicant seeks the following interim interdictory relief against
the respondent:
1.
Interdicting the
respondent from listing the applicant on National Treasury’s
list of tender defaulters or from blacklisting
the applicant from
conducting business with organs of the State;
2.
Interdicting the
respondent from implementing its cancellation of a lease agreement
concluded between the parties in March 2020
(“the 2020 Lease
Agreement “).
[3] The
interim interdictory relief is sought pending the final determination
of action proceedings to be instituted
against the respondent for a
final interdict and a declaratory order that the cancellation of the
2020 lease agreement is unlawful.
[4]
The relief sought by the applicant is opposed by the respondent.
Background Facts
[5] The
applicant is the owner of the premises situated at 37 Empire Road
Parktown, Johannesburg (the premises). The
premises is an A grade
commercial office building comprising three stories above a parking
area. The building comprises of 122
basement parking bays and 69 open
parking bays. The respondent has been a tenant of the applicant in
this building since 2013,
under various leases which are not relevant
to the present application.
[6] On 16
February 2018, the applicant and the respondent concluded a written
lease agreement in terms of which the
applicant let to the
respondent, who rented from the applicant the premises. The 2018
lease agreement commenced on 1 March 2018
and terminated on 31 March
2020.
[7] In terms
of the 2018 lease agreement, the respondent was given an option to
renew the agreement for a further period
of 24 calendar months on the
same terms, at a rental agreed to by both parties. If the respondent
wished to exercise this option,
it was required to furnish the
applicant with written notice of at least six calendar months prior
to the expiry of the lease period.
[8] The
respondent did not exercise the renewal option, but indicated to the
applicant that it would issue a new tender
for a five-year lease.
[9] On 26
March 2020, the applicant and the respondent concluded a written
lease agreement (the 2020 lease agreement)
pursuant to a public
tender process relating to the very same premises as those governed
by the 2018 lease agreement. The lease
agreement was for a period of
five years. The 2020 lease agreement is the subject matter of the
present application. This
lease agreement was implemented with
the parties performing their respective obligations in terms of the
lease agreement.
[10]
On 1 December 2021, the respondent addressed a letter to the
applicant indicating the following:
“
35.1
in terms of its Supply Chain Management Policy it shall investigate
any allegations against an employee or other role - player
of fraud,
corruption, favouritism, unfair or irregular practices or failure to
comply
with the Policy and take appropriate steps against such employee or
role player
when
justified;
and
to cancel a contract
awarded
to
a person
if
the person
concerned
committed
any
corrupt
or
fraudulent
act
during
the
bidding
process
or
the
execution
of
the
contract
that
benefited
that person
.
35.2 Clause 23.1 of [the
general conditions] provides that [the respondent] may terminate the
contract (in this case, the lease
agreement) if amongst others, the
supplier has engaged in corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing
for or in executing the
contract.
35.3 Pursuant to the
conclusion of the lease agreement, [the respondent] conducted a
forensic investigation to determine the tender
process for the lease
agreement after this contract was flagged by the Auditor General. It
was concluded and found that the tender
process was intended to
create a false legal basis to award a new five-year lease agreement
to [the applicant] so that [the respondent]
would remain in the very
same premises. The investigation also found that [the respondent’s]
representative, Mr Jay had meetings
with [the respondent’s]
Chief Financial officer to discuss, amongst others, the conclusion of
the lease agreement during
the bid evaluation process, which means
that the process was compromised thus the contract was declared
irregular.
35.4 Based on the
findings of the aforesaid investigation, [the respondent] has come to
the conclusion that it is in law entitled
to cancel the lease
agreement and hereby gives [the applicant] 12 months’ notice to
cancel the lease agreement. The lease
agreement will accordingly come
to an end on 30 November 2022 on which date [the respondent] shall
vacate the leased premises.
35.5 Should [the
respondent] secure suitable premises prior to the 12-month period,
[the respondent] shall vacate the premises,
and thus the lease
agreement will come to an end on an earlier event taking place.”
[11]
On 9 December 2021, the applicant received a further letter from the
respondent, calling
upon the applicant to make representations
to show cause why it should not be blacklisted or restricted by the
National Treasury
from conducting business for a period not exceeding
10 years, with an organ of State.
[12]
In a letter dated 13 December 2021, the applicant rejected the
respondent’s repudiation
of the 2020 lease agreement and denied
all allegations of wrongdoing during the tender process. The
applicant called for proper
and detailed particulars as to why the
respondent alleged that the award of the tender was premised upon a
false legal basis and
how and why it alleged that the applicant
participated in creating a false legal basis to award the 2020 lease
agreement to it.
[13]
In response to the applicant’s demand, the respondent once
again asserted that it was entitled
to terminate the lease agreement
for the reasons stated in its repudiation letter.
[14]
The applicant persisted that the respondent’s purported
cancellation of the 2020 lease
agreement was unlawful, hence the
present application.
The applicant’s
case
[15]
The applicant submitted that a proper case has been made out for the
interlocutory relief sought against the respondent,
pending the
institution of an action to declare the respondent’s
termination of the 2020 lease agreement unlawful. It was
submitted
that the respondent had not placed any primary facts before the court
to support its contention that the tender process,
which led to the
conclusion of the 2020 lease agreement, was irregular.
The
applicant’s case is that the respondent’s cancellation of
the lease agreement was unlawful. The applicant submitted
that the
tender has, despite the respondent’s allegations of
irregularity, fraud and threats of blacklisting the applicant,
still
not been set aside. The applicant contended that the respondent’s
submission that this court does not have a discretion
to enforce an
invalid administrative act, is predicated on wrong legal principles
as administrative acts are treated as valid until
set aside by the
court.
[16]
It is the applicant's case that an award of a tender to the applicant
is an administrative act as defined in Promotion
of Administrative
Justice Act 3 of 2000 (“PAJA”), which was supposed to
have been reviewed and set aside by the respondent
in a court of law.
[17]
With reference to
Oudekraal
Estates
(Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town and Others
,
[1]
it was submitted that
administrative
acts,
such as the award of a tender, are treated as valid until a court
pronounces,
authoritatively, on its invalidity.
Therefore, the respondent was required to approach the court to have
the tender awarded to the applicant, set aside before it was
entitled
to terminate the 2020 lease agreement.
[18]
In
Ouderkraal
, the court said:
“
[26]
… But the question that arises is what consequences follow
from the conclusion
that
the Administrator acted unlawfully.
Is
the permission
that
was granted by the Administrator simply to be disregarded as if it
had
never existed? In other words, was the Cape Metropolitan Council
entitled
to disregard the Administrator’s approval and all its
consequences
merely because it believed that they were invalid
provided
that its belief was correct? In our view it was not.
Until
the Administrator’s approval (and thus also the consequences of
the
approval)
is set aside by a court in proceedings for judicial review
it
exists in fact and it has legal consequences that cannot simply
be
overlooked.
The
proper
functioning
of
a
modern
state
would
be
considerably
compromised
if
all
administrative
acts
could
be
given
effect
to or ignored depending upon the view the subject takes of the
validity
of the act in question.
No
doubt it is for this reason that our
law
has always recognized that even an unlawful administrative
act
is capable of producing legally valid consequences for so long
as
the unlawful act is not set aside
."
(emphasis added)
[19]
The applicant also referred to
MEC
for Health, Eastern Cape and Another v Kirland Investments (Pty) Ltd
t/a Eye Laser Institute
,
[2]
where the majority, per Cameron J, applied the
Ouderkraal
principle and held:
“
[82]
All this indicates that this Court should not decide the validity of
the approval. This would be in accordance with the principle
of
legality and also, if applicable, the provisions of PAJA. PAJA
requires that the government respondents should have applied
to set
aside the approval, by way of formal counter-application. They must
do the same even if PAJA does not apply. To demand this
of government
is not to stymie it by forcing upon it a senseless formality. It is
to insist on due process, from which there is
no reason to exempt
government. On the contrary, there is a higher duty on the state to
respect the law, to fulfil procedural requirements
and to tread
respectfully when dealing with rights. Government is not an indigent
or bewildered litigant, adrift on a sea of litigious
uncertainty, to
whom the courts must extend a procedure-circumventing lifeline. It is
the Constitution’s primary agent. It
must do right, and it must
do it properly." (footnotes omitted)
[20]
The applicant placed reliance on the dicta in the case of
Magnificent
Mile Trading 30 (Pty) Ltd v Celliers NO and Others,
[3]
where
the court said the following:
“
[50]
What appears to be at the heart of the concurring judgment’s
concerns is what the rule of law dictates. The concurring
judgment
makes the point that it would be at variance with the rule of law to
enforce unlawful administrative action. It is true
– as the
concurring judgment says – that the Magnificent Mile award,
which was made contrary to statutory prescripts,
is inconsistent with
the principle of legality, an incident of the rule of law. It
is also true that the supremacy
clause
of our Constitution decrees that '(t)his Constitution is the supreme
law of the Republic; law or conduct inconsistent with
it is invalid,
and the obligations imposed by it must be fulfilled’. Crucially
though, the
Oudekraal
rule itself is informed by the rule of law. Imagine the spectre of
organs of state and private persons ignoring or giving heed
to
administrative action based on their view of its validity. The
administrative and legal chaos that would ensue from that state
of
affairs is unthinkable. Indeed, chaos and not law would rule.
[51]
It is for this reason that the rule of law does not countenance this.
The
Oudekraal
rule averts the chaos by saying an unlawful
administrative act exists in fact and may give rise to legal
consequences for as long
as it has not been set aside. The operative
words are that it exists 'in fact'. This does not seek to confer
legal validity on
the unlawful administrative act. Rather, it
prevents self-help and guarantees orderly governance and
administration. That this
is about the rule of law is made plain by
Kirland
:
‘
The
fundamental notion – that official conduct that is vulnerable
to challenge may have legal consequences and may not be
ignored until
properly set aside — springs deeply from the rule of law. The
courts alone, and not public officials, are the
arbiters of legality.
As Khampepe J stated in
Welkom
—
“
(t)he
rule of law does not permit an organ of state to reach what may turn
out to be a correct outcome by any means. On the contrary,
the rule
of law obliges an organ of state to use the correct legal process."
For
a public official to ignore irregular administrative action on the
basis that it is a nullity amounts to self-help.’ [Emphasis
added]
[52]
The concern of the concurring judgment that the effect of the
Oudekral
rule is to enforce constitutionally invalid
administrative action is ameliorated by the fact that the action is
open to challenge
through the court process. Until a court process
has taken place, the rule of law must be maintained. The alternative
of a free-for-all
is simply not viable.” (emphasis added,
footnotes omitted)
[21]
The applicant contented further that it is not for the respondent to
determine whether or not
the tender process was flawed and thus
entitled to repudiate the 2020 lease agreement. This is the sole
domain of the court.
Respondent’s
case
[22]
The respondent contends that the applicant is not entitled to the
relief sought due to the fact
that it has not satisfied the
requirements of an interim interdict. The respondent submitted that
the applicant does not have the
right to enforce the 2020 lease
agreement because the 2020 lease agreement was concluded pursuant to
a sham tender process, therefore
it is unlawful. The respondent
submitted that the tender process was a sham because it was conducted
to create a false legal basis
to award a five-year lease agreement to
the applicant. It is the respondent’s case that on the
applicant’s own
version, it engaged with the chairperson of the
bid adjudication committee about the subject matter of the tender
during the adjudication
process of the tender, which gave birth to
the 2020 lease agreement. The respondent contended that there is no
legal basis to protect
and enforce a contractual right acquired
pursuant to an unlawful and misleading tender process.
[23]
The respondent referred to
Premier
of the Free State Provincial Government and Others v Firechem Free
State (Pty) Ltd
,
[4]
where the court, dealing with an unlawful award of a tender, held
that:
“
[36]
The
delivery contract has to be ignored because to give effect to it
would be to countenance unlawfulness.
The
Province was under a duty not to submit itself to an unlawful
contract and entitled, indeed obliged, to ignore the delivery
contract and to resist Firechem’s attempts at enforcement. Its
acts in doing so did not amount to an unlawful repudiation.”
[24]
The respondent further contented that it has an obligation to refer
the applicant’s conduct
to the National Treasury to have it
blacklisted because the applicant’s engagement with Malapo of
the respondent, about the
subject matter of the tender process during
adjudication, was unlawful and its consequences is being reported to
the National Treasury
and termination of the 2020 lease agreement.
[25]
The respondent indicated that it will vacate the leased premises and
cease payment of its rental
obligations, thereby implementing its
repudiation of the agreement. According to the respondent, this will
not constitute irreparable
harm to the applicant and it does not
justify the interdictory relief which the applicant seeks.
Further, the listing of
the applicant on National Treasury database
of people barred from doing business with organs of State also does
not cause irreparable
harm because the applicant can always be
removed from the list if its entry was unlawful. To the extent that
such entry may have
caused financial harm, the respondent contends,
that too is not and does not constitute irreparable harm.
[26]
The respondent submitted that if the interim interdict is not granted
and the applicant is successful
in the intended action proceedings,
the court dealing with the action will grant such remedy as it is
appropriate to address the
harm which the applicant would have proved
to have suffered. On the other hand, if an interdict is granted but
the applicant is
not successfully in its intended action, the
respondent will suffer harm which far outweighs that which the
applicant stands to
suffer if the interdict is not granted because
the respondent and its officials would have been found guilty of
irregular expenditure.
The respondent’s case is that if the
termination of the 2020 lease agreement is found to be unlawful, the
remedy available
to the applicant is a claim for damages.
The Requirements for
Interim Interdicts
[27]
The four well-known requirements to be proven by an applicant for
interim relief to be successful
are the following:
[5]
"a.
a
prima facie
right, even if it is subject to some doubt;
b.
a reasonable apprehension of irreparable and imminent harm if an
interdict is
not granted and ultimate relief is eventually granted;
c.
the balance of convenience favours the granting of the interdict;
and
d.
the absence of any other satisfactory remedy."
[28]
In
Webster
v Mitchell
,
[6]
the court enumerated the test for interim interdict. The test was
populated as follows:
“
In
an application for a temporary interdict, applicant's right need not
be shown by a balance of probabilities; it is sufficient
if such
right is
prima
facie
established,
though open to some doubt. The proper manner of approach is to take
the facts as set out by the applicant together
with any facts set out
by the respondent which applicant cannot dispute and to consider
whether, having regard to the inherent
probabilities, the applicant
could on those facts obtain final relief at a trial. The facts set up
in contradiction by respondent
should then be considered, and if
serious doubt is thrown upon the case of applicant he could not
succeed.
In considering the harm
involved in the grant or refusal of a temporary interdict, where a
clear right to relief is not shown, the
Court acts on the balance of
convenience. If, though there is prejudice to the respondent, that
prejudice is less than that of
the applicant, the interdict will be
granted, subject, if possible, to conditions which will protect the
respondent.”
[29]
In the opening paragraph in
Webster
,
[7]
Clayden J referred, with approval, to a passage in
Setlogelo
[8]
dealing with the need to show irreparable harm. The passage reads
thus:
“
That element is
only introduced by him in cases where the right asserted by the
applicant, though prima facie established, is open
to some doubt. In
such a case he says the test must be applied whether the continuance
of the thing against which an interdict
is sought would cause
irreparable injury to the applicant. If so, the better course is to
grant relief if the discontinuance of
the act complained of would not
involve irreparable injury to the other party.”
[30]
Setlogelo
was applied and adapted to the Constitutional precepts of our
democratic state by Moseneke DCJ in
National
Treasury and Others v Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance and Others
(“OUTA”)
[9]
when he stated as follows:
“
Under the
Setlogelo
test the prima facie right a claimant must establish
is not merely the right to approach a court in order to review an
administrative
decision. It is a right to which, if not protected by
an interdict, irreparable harm would ensue. An interdict is meant to
prevent
future conduct and not decisions already made. Quite apart
from the right to review and to set aside impugned decisions, the
applicants
should have demonstrated a prima facie right that is
threatened by an impending or imminent irreparable harm. The right to
review
the impugned decisions did not require any preservation
pendente lite
.”
[31]
Although the Constitutional Court held that the
Setlogelo
test, as adapted by case law, still remains a handy and ready guide
to the bench and practitioners in the magistrates and high
courts,
"
the
test must now be applied cognisant of the normative scheme and
democratic principles that underpin our Constitution
."
It continued: "
When
considering to grant an interim interdict a court
must
promote the objects, spirit and purport of the Constitution."
Consequently, the Constitutional Court stated the following:
[10]
"If the right
asserted in a claim for an interim interdict is sourced from the
Constitution it would be redundant to enquire
whether that right
exists. Similarly, when a court weighs up where the balance of
convenience rests, it may not fail to consider
the probable impact of
the restraining order on the constitutional and statutory powers and
duties of the state functionary or
organ of state against which the
interim order is sought."
[32]
It is necessary, at this stage, to quote the following from
OUTA:
[11]
“…
It must
assess carefully how and to what extent its interdict will disrupt
executive or legislative functions conferred by the law
and thus
whether its restraining order will implicate the tenet of division of
powers. While a court has the power to grant a restraining
order of
that kind, it does not readily do so, except when a proper and strong
case has been made out for the relief and, even
so, only in the
clearest of cases.
…
What this means
is that a court is obliged to ask itself not whether an interim
interdict against an authorised state functionary
is competent but
rather whether it is constitutionally appropriate to grant the
interdict.
Evaluation of the
Evidence and submissions by the parties
Prima Facie right
[33]
The
OUTA
judgment quoted above makes it clear that courts
considering granting temporary restraining orders against the
exercise of statutory
power, shall only do so in exceptional cases
and when a strong case has been made out.
[34]
The Constitutional Court acknowledged, in
National
Gambling Board v Premier, Kwazulu Natal and Others,
[12]
that
an interim interdict is a court order preserving or restoring the
status quo pending the determination of rights of the parties,
that
it does not involve a final determination of these rights and does
not affect their final determination.
[35]
In order to adjudicate the first requirement of a
prima facie
right, it is necessary to consider whether the respondent has
placed any evidence that it was entitled to terminate the 2020 lease
agreement for any lawful reason. The respondent has pertinently
relied upon clause 23.1 of the General Conditions of Contract,
which
records that the respondent may terminate the 2020 lease agreement if
the applicant has engaged in fraudulent practices in
competing for or
in executing the contract. The respondent never furnished the
applicant with a copy of the forensic report which
allegedly contains
the findings that the applicant was “
engaged in corrupt
fraudulent practices in competing for or in executing the contract
.”
It has also never granted the applicant an opportunity to see, much
less refute those very serious claims against it. That
report is also
not attached to these papers. The respondent has adduced no evidence,
apart from what is common cause between the
parties. In any
event, whether the tender process was irregular or not and whether
the conclusion of the 2020 agreement is
unlawful or not, are
questions to be determined by the court in due course at a trial
after all of the evidence has properly been
ventilated and tested;
not vaguely and baldly by the respondent simply declaring this to be
so. This is in line with the
Oudekraal, Kirklan
and
Tasima
decisions.
[36]
The respondent’s award of the tender to the applicant gave rise
to the contractual rights
contained in the 2020 lease agreement. The
applicant is entitled to rely on those contractual rights until such
time that a Court
pronounces that the award of the tender to it must
be set aside. It is, for this reason that the applicant enjoys the
right to
approach the court for an (interim) interdict.
[37]
I agree with the applicant’s counsel that on application of the
Ouderkraal
principle, the 2020 lease agreement remains of full
force and effect until the tender process is reviewed and set aside
by a court
and that it is not open to the respondent to side-step
this mandatory process, irrespective of whether it believes there are
good
grounds to do so or not.
Irreparable harm
[38]
I am satisfied that if the interim relief is not granted, the
applicant stands to suffer irreparable
harm. The applicant has
spent a significant amount of time and money and gone to great
lengths to implement the 2020 lease
agreement. If the applicant is
not granted interim relief, it will suffer irreparable harm not only
through lost income, but also
through the reputational damage that it
will undoubtedly suffer by being endorsed on the register of tender
defaulters.
[39]
The harm that would be suffered by the applicant by being named on
the register is manifest and
would certainly materially affect its
ability to earn an income as a commercial property lessor. For the
respondent to suggest
otherwise, is disingenuous.
[40]
Furthermore, Section 28 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt
Activities Act
[13]
states:
“
28
Endorsement of Register
(1)(a) A court convicting
a person of an offence contemplated in section 12 or 13, may, in
addition to imposing any sentence contemplated
in section 26, issue
an order that-
(i) the particulars of
the convicted person;
(ii) the conviction and
sentence; and
(iii) any other order of
the court consequent thereupon,
be endorsed on the
Register.”
[41]
Section 13 of the Act further states:
“
13 Offences in
respect of corrupt activities relating to procuring and withdrawal of
tenders
(1) Any person who,
directly or indirectly, accepts or agrees or offers to accept any
gratification from any other person, whether
for the benefit of
himself or herself or for the benefit of another person, as-
(a) an inducement to,
personally or by influencing any other person so to act-
(i) award a tender, in
relation to a contract for performing any work, providing any
service, supplying any article, material or
substance or performing
any other act, to a particular person; or
(ii) upon an invitation
to tender for such contract, make a tender for that contract which
has as its aim to cause the tenderee
to accept a particular tender;
or
(iii) withdraw a tender
made by him or her for such contract; or
(b) a reward for acting
as contemplated in paragraph (a) (i), (ii) or (iii),
is guilty of the offence
of corrupt activities relating to procuring and withdrawal of
tenders.
(2) Any person who,
directly or indirectly-
(a) gives or agrees or
offers to give any gratification to any other person, whether for the
benefit of that other person or the
benefit of another person, as-
(i) an inducement to,
personally or by influencing any other person so to act, award a
tender, in relation to a contract for performing
any work, providing
any service, supplying any article, material or substance or
performing any other act, to a particular person;
or
(ii) a reward for acting
as contemplated in subparagraph (i); or
(b) with the intent to
obtain a tender in relation to a contract for performing any work,
providing any service, supplying any article,
material or substance
or performing any other act, gives or agrees or offers to give any
gratification to any person who has made
a tender in relation to that
contract, whether for the benefit of that tenderer or for the benefit
of any other person, as-
(i) an inducement to
withdraw the tender; or
(ii) a reward for
withdrawing or having withdrawn the tender, is guilty of the offence
of corrupt activities relating to procuring
and withdrawal of
tenders.”
[42]
From the reading of these sections of the Act it appears that the
respondent would need to lay
charges against the applicant in terms
of the contravention of section 13 of the Act and prove its case
before a court would be
entitled to endorse the name of the applicant
on the register of defaulters under section 28 of the Act. For
the respondent
to take that action without following the appropriate
procedure could have the effect that the applicant’s dignity,
good
name and reputation would be tarnished and irreparably impugned
in the event that it is to be labelled a tender defaulter.
Balance of convenience
[43]
I have taken due notice of the manner in which courts must consider
the balance of convenience
in these kind of applications
.
The
Constitutional Court has made itself clear in paragraphs 65 and 66 of
OUTA
as quoted above. The balance of convenience favours the
granting of the interim relief because the prejudice which the
applicant
will suffer, in my view, far outweighs any prejudice the
respondent might suffer if the interim order is granted. If an order
is
granted, the status quo ante remains and the 2020 lease agreement,
which will have been in place for thirty-two months, will simply
continue as before until the tender is set aside by a competent
court. If interim relief is not granted, the applicant will suffer
financial prejudice having regard to its loss of income and having to
try and find another commercial tenant whilst having to clear
its
reputation as a tender defaulter.
No alternative remedy
[44]
There is no alternative satisfactory remedy. In my view, the
applicant had no other option but
to approach the court for interim
relief in order to mitigate the losses it may suffer as a result of a
finding by the trial court
that the respondent’s termination of
the 2020 lease agreement is unlawful. A claim for damages is, in my
view, not a suitable
alternative remedy.
Conclusion
[45]
I conclude therefore that the applicant has proven the four
requisites for an interim interdict
and consequently, the application
must succeed.
In the result, I make the
following order:
1.
An interim
interdict is granted against the respondent from entering the
applicant, its directors, officers, associates
and/or
any other person whom the respondent might determine to wholly or
partly exercise or have exercised or who may exercise control
over
the applicant on National Treasury's list of Tender Defaulters, or to
otherwise blacklist the applicant and/or any of the
foregoing
from conducting business with the
public sector, pending determination
of an action to be
instituted by the applicant against the respondent for a final
interdict in the above regard.
2.
An interim interdict is
granted against the respondent against implementing its purported
cancellation of the 2020 lease agreement,
directing that the
respondent abide by and perform all obligations incumbent upon it
under and in terms of the 2020 lease agreement
pending final
determination of an action to be institution against it for a
declarator that its purported cancellation of the said
lease
agreement is unlawful.
3.
The applicant is directed
to institute an action for final relief as set out in paragraphs 1
and 2 above, within thirty (30) days
from date of order.
4.
Costs of the application
will be costs in the action to be instituted in terms of paragraph 3
above.
M B MAHALELO
JUDGE OF THE HIGH
COURT
GAUTENG DIVISION,
JOHANNESBURG
This judgment was
delivered electronically by circulation to the parties’ legal
representatives by e-mail and uploading onto
CaseLines. The date and
time of hand down is 12 April 2023 at 10h00.
APPEARANCES
For the
Applicant
: Adv A W Pullinger
Instructed
by
: Hutcheon Attorneys
For both
Respondent :
Adv J G Wasserman SC and Adv R Naidoo
Instructed
by
: Kayoori Chiba Chiba Attorneys
Date of
hearing
: 15
th
November 2022
Date
of judgment
:12
th
April 2023
[1]
2004
(6) SA 222 (SCA).
[2]
2014
(3) SA 481 (CC).
[3]
2020
(4) SA
375
(CC).
[4]
2000
(4) SA 413 (SCA).
[5]
Setlogelo
v Setlogelo
1914
AD 221
at 227.
[6]
1948
(1) SA 1186
(WLD) (Headnote).
[7]
Above.
[8]
Above.
[9]
2012
(6) SA 223
(CC) at para 50.
[10]
National
Treasury and Others v Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance and
Others
above
at paras 45 and 46.
[11]
paras
65 and 66.
[12]
[2001] ZACC 8
;
2002
(2) SA 715
(CC) at para 49.
[13]
Act
12 of 2004.
sino noindex
make_database footer start
Similar Cases
D.V.M.T v Minister of Police (2021/51114) [2024] ZAGPJHC 921 (30 August 2024)
[2024] ZAGPJHC 921High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)98% similar
Diphare v Pawn My Car (37676/2021) [2023] ZAGPJHC 770 (2 June 2023)
[2023] ZAGPJHC 770High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)98% similar
S.V.D.B v H.E.V.D.B (2024/067811) [2025] ZAGPJHC 313 (20 March 2025)
[2025] ZAGPJHC 313High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)98% similar
S.V.D.M v A.V.D.M (2023/072735) [2025] ZAGPJHC 1091 (15 September 2025)
[2025] ZAGPJHC 1091High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)98% similar
Department of Social Development v Non-Profit Organisations Registered (2024/00063) [2024] ZAGPJHC 253 (18 March 2024)
[2024] ZAGPJHC 253High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)98% similar