The battle between the RAF and its panel of attorneys has resulted in a six-month reprieve for the 103 attorneys involved following a judgment in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) delivered yesterday.

In a three-pronged review application, the attorneys sought the decision of 18 and 20 February calling on the panel to hand over their current files be reviewed and set aside as constitutionally invalid, along with the cancellation of the tender and the RAF’s decision to dispense with the services of the panel from 1 June.

Judge Wendy Hughes, noting the RAF had failed to demonstrate the rationality of the decisions it has taken, decided it was necessary to retain the status quo for at least six months with the panel attorneys’ present contractual relationship.

‘This will enable the RAF to reconsider its position and retain the social responsibility net in place protecting the public,’ the judge said.

The RAF was ordered to fulfil all of its obligations to the attorneys in terms of the existing service level agreement. It was also ordered to pay the costs of the review applications on a party and party scale, jointly and severally, such costs to include the costs of two counsel for each legal team where so employed.

The judge noted the conundrum that the RAF found itself in was that it cannot cancel the panel attorneys’ mandate and replace them with other attorneys funded by the RAF to perform the same function of the panel attorneys.

‘This contradicts the reason advanced that the service of attorneys is no longer required as they wish to save legal costs. The RAF will still be paying for attorneys, which they are currently doing with the panel attorneys.’

On the RAF’s claims that issues of fraud and corruption mitigated its decisions, Hughes noted this contention was advanced ex post facto.

‘The problem they face is that they have conceded that the fraud and corruption is not with all the attorneys. It therefore cannot be justified and rational that all the attorneys are penalised.’

She noted the fraud and corruption does not only fall at the feet of the attorneys, but involves RAF staff, the medical profession, the ambulance emergency sector and the SAPS among others.

Judgment