Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal judgment against Thuja Holdings in the R5 billion Thuja jobs scheme matter.

The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed with costs on 15 August 2024 an application by Mthunzi Mdwaba, Thuja Holdings and others to appeal against judgments and orders handed down earlier this year by the Pretoria High Court.

‘In dismissing the application, the Supreme Court of Appeal found that there is no reasonable prospect of success in the appeal. Furthermore, there is no other compelling reason an appeal should be heard,’ the Department of Employment and Labour said in a statement.

On 19 April 2024, the Pretoria High Court set aside the R5 billion Thuja jobs scheme agreement and declared it invalid after it found that the agreement entered into between the Department of Employment and Labour and Thuja Holdings (Pty) Ltd did not comply with the relevant provisions of the Public Finance Management Act.

Mdwaba was ordered to pay the Minist
er’s costs of the application, including the cost for two legal counsel employed.

Mdwaba, subsequent to the judgment of 19 April 2024, applied for leave to appeal the Pretoria High Court judgments and orders, but after hearing the appeal, the court dismissed the matter with costs, on 28 May 2024.

Meth is pleased that the Court has finally pronounced on the validity and lawfulness of the agreement, which has brought the matter to its conclusion.

“I am pleased that the SCA has finally brought this protracted Thuja jobs scheme matter to closure. This judgment is significant to us as the department and the workers whose UIF [Unemployment Insurance Fund] money was preserved through the aversion of this irregular transaction.

‘It goes to show that as government, we do not take light the responsibility placed upon us to safeguard the monies reserved for workers. Indeed, certainty and clarity about the oversight responsibility bestowed on political office-bearers deployed in government was elevated through this m
atter,’ Meth said.

The Minister said the work of the Unemployment Insurance Fund can continue in earnest, as the department maps the way forward to create much needed employment opportunities for unemployed jobseekers.

READ | Nxesi denies allegations of corruption in R5 billion UIF jobs deal.

Source: South African Government News Agency