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HH 29-2007
HC 1786/06
order directing the respondents to take all the necessary steps to cause her to be appointed to the
position of senior house officer at Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto. It was common cause in that
matter that the only reason that had caused the respondents not to offer her the position was her
signature to a letter addressed by the applicant and a number of other doctors to the South African
Medical Journal complaining about conditions at Baragwanath. Having reviewed all the facts and
circumstances of the dispute the learned judge came to the conclusion that no reasonable or unbiased
person could come to the conclusion that the applicant was unsuitable for appointment as a senior
house officer.
In West Rand Bantu Affairs Administration Board v Jacques, (supra) the respondent had been
offered a post as principal welfare officer responsible for juvenile employment in the municipality of
Johannesburg. She was then seconded to the appellant at the same post for a period of six months.
Before the expiration of such period she was offered the same position by the appellant whilst the
appellant put into place a position structure. She accepted the offer in writing. Thereafter she was
advised that her service with the appellant would commence on 1 November 1973. After the
restructuring process was completed the respondent was informed by letter that her post would be
that of senior welfare officer. The responsibilities that she had had apparently been shifted to
Department of Labour. She applied for an order that her former post be declared redundant in
accordance with the provisions of the Bantu Affairs Administration Act 45 of 1971. Her application
succeeded and the appellant was ordered to give the respondent a redundancy notice. On appeal, the
court decided that the appellant had in fact made a declaration of redundancy, which it however
refused to recognize. It was found by the court that in the circumstances of the case, it would be
competent for the court to make the declaratory order sought. The appellant could not, by refusing to
recognize that it had declared redundancy avoid the consequences flowing from such a declaration.
In the result the appeal court upheld the decision of the court a quo but amended the order in form
and not in substance.
In Honnievale Wine & Brandy Co v Gordonia Liquor Licensing Board (supra) the respondent
had refused to issue the applicant with a liquor licence. The applicant then took the board to court on
review and the decision was set aside. The court declined to order that the applicant‟s liquor licence
be renewed. It considered that although the powers of the court under section 29(2) of the Liquor Act
were sufficiently wide to permit the court to do so, yet, the cases where such recourse would be
appropriate were rare and were limited to those instances where the court was satisfied that if the
matter were referred back, the board would have granted the licence. The court there found that for a

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