1st AND 2nd RESPONDENT'S HEADS OF ARGUMENT

This document contains the heads of argument submitted by the MEC and the Chief Director of the North West Provincial Government (the 1st and 2nd Respondents) in an appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. The appeal challenges an ex post facto environmental authorization granted under section 24G of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) for the Kgaswane Country Lodge, located in the Magaliesberg Protected Environment. The respondents argue that the appellant's request for the demolition of the lodge is disproportionate and that the review application became academic after the appellant failed to obtain an urgent interdict to stop construction.

• The respondents contend that an order to demolish the Kgaswane Country Lodge would be disproportionate and that the court should only substitute the decisions of the Chief Director and MEC in 'exceptional circumstances', which the appellant failed to demonstrate in the founding affidavit.
• The respondents argue that the review application became academic because the appellant failed to secure an urgent interdict to stop construction, and by the time the review was heard, the lodge was already completed.
• The respondents assert that the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) for the Magaliesberg Protected Environment was a draft at the time the decision was made and therefore was not applicable, arguing that statutes and regulatory frameworks generally do not apply with retrospective effect.
• The respondents argue that the evidence provided by the appellant's representative, Libero Paul Fatti, is inadmissible because he lacks the necessary expert qualifications in biodiversity, fauna, flora, heritage, water, and soil to provide the technical opinions offered in the founding affidavit.
• The respondents maintain that the public participation process for the section 24G application was sufficient, as it included advertisements in the Rustenburg Herald, billboards, letters to affected parties, and door-to-door visits.
• The Kgaswane Country Lodge is an eco-tourism facility situated on 11.8 hectares of land (Portion 21 and Portion 85 of the farm Boschfontein 330 JQ) with a development footprint of 0.7 hectares, which the respondents claim does not adversely affect the environment.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2013). 1st AND 2nd RESPONDENT'S HEADS OF ARGUMENT. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/State-Heads-.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. 1st AND 2nd RESPONDENT'S HEADS OF ARGUMENT. 2013. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/State-Heads-.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=1st AND 2nd RESPONDENT'S HEADS OF ARGUMENT |date=13 March 2013 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/State-Heads-.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights20131st, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{1st AND 2nd RESPONDENT'S HEADS OF ARGUMENT}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/State-Heads-.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }