Judgment on contract transparency in the public procurement of Covid-19 vaccines
Health Justice Initiative v The Minister of Health and Information Officer, National Department of Health (Case No 10009/22).
On Thursday 17 August 2023, the Pretoria High Court ruled in HJI’s favour in our bid to compel the National Department of Health to provide access to the COVID-19 vaccine procurement contracts. The Court ordered (per Millar J) that all COVID-19 vaccine contracts (part 1) and negotiation related documents (part 2) must be made public within 10 court days of the Judgment (being 31 August 2023).
In the past week, the Department’s legal representatives requested an extension until 29 September 2023. We granted the extension for the ‘part 2’ documents (negotiation meeting outcomes, minutes, and correspondence) but did not grant it for the ‘part 1’ documents (contracts, MOUs, and agreements).
At this stage, HJI’s legal representatives have not received any applications for leave to appeal or an application seeking an extension of the 10-day period from the National Department of Health. We believe that they will act in accordance with the dates outlined in the Order and per our extension, as follows:
- Handover of Contracts, MOUs, and Agreements: 31 August 2023.
- Handover of negotiation meeting outcomes, minutes, and correspondence: 29 September 2023.
We will keep the public informed. Please follow HJI on twitter for announcements about this unfolding matter – Twitter: @HealthJusticeIn and on our Website: https://healthjusticeinitiative.org.za/pandemic-transparency/
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