Cape Town - Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier has reinstated an intergovernmental dispute with Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula in the 10-month-old wrangle over Delta Airlines being allowed to fly a triangular route between Atlanta, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Maynier had called off the dispute two weeks ago after the minister wrote to him a “final indulgence” and the opportunity to urgently deal with the issue.
Maynier said: “On February 21, I received a letter from the Minister requesting additional time to respond to the matter. In the interest of co-operative governance, I granted him an extra 15 days, which lapsed at midnight on March 16.
“Unfortunately, the extra time has now lapsed, and I have been left with no choice but to reinstate the Intergovernmental Dispute.”
Intergovernmental disputes are governed by the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act which dictates that Maynier must now promptly convene a meeting with the Minister or his representative, in order to determine the precise nature of the dispute.
The Act says that the next step is for both sides to identify available mechanisms or procedures, other than judicial proceedings, that may assist in the settling of the disputes at hand.
Finally they will have to agree on an appropriate mechanism or procedure to settle the dispute and when and how such mechanism or procedure shall be implemented.
The spat over Delta Airlines and its triangular route goes back to May last year when Maynier wrote to Mbalula to request that the US airline's application to operate a triangular route between Atlanta – Johannesburg – Cape Town, be processed urgently.
Maynier reasoned that this triangular route was necessary because tourism is a significant contributor to job creation and economic growth in the Western Cape.
“After receiving no substantive response to seven separate letters, over six months, directly from my office to Minister Mbalula, I was left with no choice but to launch an Intergovernmental Dispute in a bid to resolve this urgent matter, on November 25, 2021,” Maynier said.
In February this year, Delta submitted an application to the US Department of Transportation for a three times weekly service between Atlanta and Cape Town, with hopes to begin the Atlanta-Cape Town service on November 18, 2022.
Delta’s application came a week after United Airlines announced its decision to resume their direct flights between Cape Town and Newark/New York, starting on June 5 this year, ahead of their initial schedule.
At the time Maynier welcomed Delta’s application and expressed the hope that it would be approved promptly by the national government.
He said the request from Delta showed that there was clearly a surge in demand for direct flights from the United States to Cape Town, and this was good for the Cape’s tourism and hospitality sectors.