The decision in Wary Holdings (Pty) - PULP
The decision in Wary Holdings (Pty) - PULP
The decision in Wary Holdings (Pty) - PULP
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438 <strong>Wary</strong> Hold<strong>in</strong>gs (<strong>Pty</strong>) Ltd v Stalwo (<strong>Pty</strong>) Ltd and Another<br />
did not refer to the restructur<strong>in</strong>g of local government but dealt with<br />
the rearrangement of powers between the national and prov<strong>in</strong>cial<br />
government relat<strong>in</strong>g to concurrent competences. <strong>The</strong>re was thus no<br />
<strong>in</strong>dication that any part of the agricultural functional area was to be<br />
adm<strong>in</strong>istered by a future local government. 31 <strong>The</strong>re is also no<br />
suggestion that the functional area of agriculture was assigned to<br />
local government. 32<br />
Second, <strong>in</strong> response to the SCA’s view and arguments by counsel<br />
on the enhanced status of local government, Kroon J contended that<br />
it cannot be ‘a ground for ascrib<strong>in</strong>g to the legislature the <strong>in</strong>tention<br />
that national control over ‘agricultural land’, through the Agricultural<br />
Land Act, effectively be a th<strong>in</strong>g of the past.’ 33 <strong>The</strong> judge reasoned as<br />
follows:<br />
[L]and, agriculture, food production and environmental considerations<br />
are obviously important policy issues on a national level. An<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpretation of the Agriculture Land Act that would attribute to the<br />
legislature the <strong>in</strong>tention to reta<strong>in</strong> the national government’s role <strong>in</strong><br />
effectively formulat<strong>in</strong>g national policy on these and other related issues,<br />
and to recognise the need for national policy to play a role <strong>in</strong> <strong>decision</strong>s<br />
to reduce ‘agricultural land’ and for consistency <strong>in</strong> agricultural policy<br />
throughout the country, is an <strong>in</strong>terpretation that can and should properly<br />
be adopted. 34<br />
An event occurr<strong>in</strong>g after the enactment of the proviso - the enhanced<br />
status of local government <strong>in</strong> terms of the 1996 Constitution - could<br />
not be used as an <strong>in</strong>dicator of what the legislature may have<br />
reasonably contemplated. Kroon AJ po<strong>in</strong>ted out that <strong>in</strong> the<br />
uncerta<strong>in</strong>ty <strong>in</strong> 1995, when Proclamation R100 was issued [add<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
proviso] concern<strong>in</strong>g the face of future municipal structures, it is unlikely<br />
that the legislature would have <strong>in</strong>tended to tie the life of the proviso to<br />
the life of the <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>terim structures<br />
because it would have left the policy on agriculture ‘to the, as yet<br />
undeterm<strong>in</strong>ed, municipal structures to be established <strong>in</strong> the<br />
future.’ 35<br />
<strong>The</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong>terpretation device used, which does use post hoc<br />
<strong>in</strong>dicators, is the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple that the legislature is aware of case law<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpret<strong>in</strong>g a statute <strong>in</strong> a particular way and the lack of any<br />
31 Paras 67 & 69.<br />
32 Para 75. <strong>The</strong> judge refers only to the assignment of executive authority <strong>in</strong> terms<br />
of sec 156(4) of the Constitution. <strong>The</strong> relevant form of assignment would be<br />
legislative, which would have entail assignment by stealth or default.<br />
33 Para 80.<br />
34<br />
Para 80.<br />
35 Para 81, emphasis <strong>in</strong> the orig<strong>in</strong>al.