The Supreme Court of Appeal has today ruled in favour of SA entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, awarding him the R250 million that he was forced to forfeit when he emigrated.
In a statement, Shuttleworth says the amount, plus interest, will be placed in a trust, to underwrite constitutional court cases on behalf of those whose circumstances deny them the ability to be heard where the counterparty is the state.
Last year, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed his application to have a section of the Currency and Exchange Act and all of the Exchange Control Regulations struck down.
Shuttleworth had argued that exchange controls prejudice small businesses and individuals, preventing South African citizens and residents from managing their finances in a global economy, without providing the state with meaningful control over the value of the rand.
The billionaire founded Thawte and sold it to VeriSign for $575 million in 1999, before founding venture fund HBD and setting up the Shuttleworth Foundation, which funds change in society. In April 2002, he flew into space, as a cosmonaut member of the crew of the Russian Soyuz mission TM34, to the International Space Station, and subsequently developed Ubuntu.
Shuttleworth's initial application, which sought to set aside the R250 million levy he had to pay to the Reserve Bank was dismissed. Shuttleworth's bid to have the bank's policy of working only through bank dealers, and not the public, declared invalid was also dismissed.
In a statement released today, Shuttleworth says exchange controls stifle the local economy. "Everything you buy is more expensive, South Africans are less globally competitive, and cross-border labourers, already vulnerable, pay the highest price of all - a shame we should work to address."
Shuttleworth notes the ruling "found administrative and procedural fault with the Reserve Bank's actions in regards to me, and returned the fees levied, for which I am grateful. This case, however, was not filed solely in pursuit of relief for me personally. We are now considering the continuation of the case in the Constitutional Court, to challenge exchange control on constitutional grounds and ensure that the benefits of today's ruling accrue to all South Africans".
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