AfriForum and Sunfield Home secure major victory in Mpumalanga High Court

AfriForum is pleased to announce that a significant victory was secured in the Mpumalanga High Court today regarding the subsidy amount paid to Sunfield Home Fortuna, a home for physically and mentally disabled persons outside Balfour. The court heard AfriForum’s case against the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development, in which the civil rights organisation argued that the home’s subsidy should be increased in line with inflation.

The case, which began when Sunfield Home approached AfriForum for help in August 2022, focused on the unfair subsidy amount that had never been increased in the past 15 years. Sunfield faced the cancellation of the subsidy, which could potentially have led to the relocation of all the home’s vulnerable residents.

In 2022, AfriForum successfully obtained an interdict that prevented the cancellation of the contract and ensured the continued payment of the existing subsidy, pending the finalisation of the main matter. Today the court declared that the Mpumalanga Department of Social Development failed to budget sufficiently by failing to make provision for inflationary increases in state-subsidised residents’ subsidies for the past 15 years. The judgment orders, among other things, that the 2024/2025 subsidy must be paid at a monthly amount, as determined by the court, and that the annual increase must be budgeted and paid based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

According to Louis Boshoff, Campaign Officer at AfriForum, the department has the necessary funds to provide sufficient financial support to Sunfield Home Fortuna. “It is shocking to witness the ANC-controlled authorities’ indifference to the well-being of the most vulnerable people in society. It is fights like these that emphasise the importance of organisations that, like AfriForum, stand up for those who are treated unfairly by the government,” says Boshoff.

AfriForum will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the state’s negligence is rectified. AfriForum will also remain vigilant to hold authorities accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities towards the most vulnerable members of society.