The government's decision to grant the Republic of Cuba R50-million in aid, has come under scrutiny, and officials will now have to explain the decision in court.

According to International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor, Cuba faces chronic food, fuel, medicine, and electricity shortages.

In response to a written parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance MP Willem Faber, Pandor said the Cuban government had called on South Africa and other partner countries in their "hour of need" in July 2021.

Pandor said the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF), located within the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), and legally constituted to implement humanitarian assistance of this nature, is coordinating the project.

But civil rights organisation AfriForum has turned to the courts to obtain an urgent court order that will prevent the government from making the planned R50-million donation to Cuba.

Following this application, and, if successful, AfriForum will submit a review application to the court, asking that the original decision be reversed.

AfriForum's bone of contention is that no mandatory parliamentary overview was conducted over the donation and that National Treasury did not properly approve it.

"It is also an utter disgrace that the government borrows money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international organisations but wants to donate that money, and some of the country's other money, to Cuba," AfriForum said.

In a founding affidavit at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, AfriForum CEO Carl Kriel argues that the donation to Cuba is irrational given the enormous amounts of debt South Africa has.

"The decision is unreasonable and wholly insensible. The decision has angered and frustrated many South Africans, who are aware thereof that all is not well inside our Republic when it comes to important Constitutional obligations and the state of our economy," he said.

According to Kriel, money in the ARF fund should be used on:

• Co-operation between South Africa and other countries, especially African countries;
• The promotion of democracy and good governance;
• Prevention and resolution of conflict;
• Socio-economic development and integration; and
• Humanitarian assistance and human resources development.

"It is important to highlight that in the department's correspondence and in terms of specifically paragraph 5.2 thereof, it was indicated that the allocation of the R50 million will not be made in terms of any agreement," he said.

According to Pandor's reply, the required concurrence to release an amount of R50-million from the African Renaissance Fund was provided by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

The acting Director-General of Dirco Nonceba Losi approved that Cuba's request for humanitarian assistance be implemented through the supply chain management processes as regulated by the Public Finance Management Act, Pandor said. These processes were concluded by December 2021.

The case will be heard next Tuesday.