Nanaga Property Trust represented by its trustee for the time-being v The Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the Republic of South Africa and others
16 February 2016
High Court of the Republic of South Africa, Eastern Cape Division, Grahamstown
Case No. 4689/2014
Date: 16 February 2016
Judge: Hartle J
In this matter, the High Court set aside a decision of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry (DAFF) and Fisheries to refuse a licence application for the removal of protected tree species in terms of the National Forests Act, 1998 on the grounds that the official in DAFF that took the decision did not have the authority to take that decision. The Court also held that, even if it was wrong that the relevant official did not have the authority to act, the decision itself was faulty since it constituted a slavish adherence to a general DAFF policy guideline.