Several civil society organisations fighting for transparency in the procurement of Covid vaccines by the South African government celebrated on Thursday after the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria ordered that the country's vaccine contracts and related documentation be made public.

'[Government is] constitutionally obliged to act in an accountable and transparent manner ... It is, in my view, self-evident that there is a public interest in the disclosure of the records."

With these words, Judge Anthony Millar ordered the National Department of Health on Thursday to provide the procurement contracts, agreements and other documents to the Health Justice Initiative within 10 days.

Up until now, the negotiations and any information around the procurement of Covid vaccines were shrouded in secrecy.

"Today, South African courts upheld the principles of transparency and accountability when our government procures health services using public funds," said Fatima Hassan from the Health Justice Initiative.

The Health Justice Initiative brought the appeal under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).

"The [Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria] ruled in our favour in our bid to compel the National Department of Health to provide access to the Covid-19 vaccine procurement contracts.

"The court ordered that all Covid-19 vaccine contracts must be made public within 10 days.

"This is a massive victory for transparency and accountability. The contracts concerned substantial public funds, and the contracting process has been marred by allegations that the government...