The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on Friday reported that the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and multinational commodity trader Glencore had agreed not to proceed with their case, which had been scheduled to be heard in the Cape High Court on Friday.
The CEF had filed an affidavit earlier this week, which halted the process that could have influenced the case regarding the sale of South Africa’s oil reserves.
Glencore – one of the companies that bought the oil reserves – had brought an application earlier this year that could lead to crucial reports, which could possibly influence the court’s decision, being excluded, Outa said in a statement on Friday.
Ahead of Friday’s court appearance, Outa wrote to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe requesting his intervention. Outa said it had “not received any formal correspondence from the Ministry”.
“We believe that our call to the Minister has had an impact on this outcome,” the organisation added.
Despite the non-event, Outa chief legal officer Advocate Stefanie Fick said the agreement between the parties was “a huge achievement”, which was said to “highlight the role civil society plays in keeping government accountable and protecting the country’s interests over individual greed”.