The SA History Archives Trust has scored a major victory in its six-year legal battle with the SA Reserve Bank over access to records that may shed light on foreign exchange fraud, Eskom bonds and gold smuggling during the apartheid years, according to a report on the IoL site.

This after the SCA on Friday found the decisions of SARB to refuse access to the records requested by the trust in respect of the late Brigadier Blaauw, Robert Hill and Vito Palazzolo in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) application unlawful and in conflict with the provisions of PAIA.

The application arose from a PAIA request by researchers from the Open Secrets Project who are collecting material for a book, which plans to deal with apartheid era procurement practices and public accountability.

Acting Judge Trevor Gorven noted the SARB did not give notice to Hill and Palazzolo as required by the PAIA when it refused access to their records.

‘The decision to refuse access to the documents concerning Messrs Hill and Palazzolo thus lacks a valid legal basis.’

The bank had argued the records constituted personal information.

In the case of Blaauw, it was said that records concerning the company of which he was a director ‘(constitute) commercial information of the company’.

The judge was scathing of the bank's stance, saying the blanket refusal by the SARB was based on 'entirely spurious grounds which do not even assert the elements entitling them to withhold access supports a costs order being made against it'.

Gorven added, according to the IoL report: 'That response has bordered on the obstructive and is certainly not in keeping with the purpose of PAIA in its outworking of the provisions of the Constitution to promote openness and transparency. As was submitted by the appellant, the approach was redolent of the dark days of apartheid, where secrecy was routinely weaponised against a defenceless population. The costs must therefore follow the result,’ Gorven added.

The judge upheld the appeal and awarded costs to the trust.

Gorven also reviewed and set aside SARB decisions to refuse access to the requested records. The court ordered SARB to provide the trust with the requested records for Blaauw.

Gorven also ordered that Palazzolo and Hill be notified of the request concerning records relating to them within 10 days. In a series of tweets, Hennie van Vuuren of Open Secrets said the judgment was a victory for openness over six years in the making.

Full report on the IoL site

Judgment