Court threat over ‘permanent State of Disaster’
Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, yesterday warned government could declare a State of Disaster again should Covid-19 infections spiral.
SA exited the State of Disaster on Monday and the country has entered a 30-day transitional post-disaster management period that will be legislated accordingly.
Business Tech reports that the pandemic is now being managed in terms of the National Health Act while the draft Health Regulations have been published for public comment – and which close on 16 April.
Once the comments have been considered, the new regulations will be finalised and promulgated.
‘If we look after ourselves, wear masks and make sure that we do what needs to be done… we may avoid a situation where this pandemic becomes a disaster again. That is what we’re hoping for. In the event that it becomes a disaster, we will have to revert back to the Act,’ the Minister said.
The National Employers Association said it is preparing a High Court challenge against some of the health regulations.
Business Day reports that it said the proposed regulations would place SA in a permanent State of Disaster and were at odds with the counsel provided by the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19.
For example, the committee had recommended scrapping Covid-19 contact tracing and quarantine, saying that while these measures were appropriate in the early stages of the pandemic when authorities sought to contain transmission, they are no longer useful.
Professor Dewald van Niekerk, an expert in disaster management at the North West University, says the government would have to follow several procedures before a State of Disaster could be declared again.
According to a Beeld report, he questions the ‘transitional regulations’ and whether they are legally competent.
‘I read through the Disaster Management Act again this morning and there is no mention of transitional regulations. Why is the government doing it? It could rather have extended the State of Disaster for another month.’
Van Niekerk says he suspects the government sought to avert pending litigation challenging the rationality of its decisions.
Ramaphosa said during his announcements the ‘transitional regulations’ are not enforceable, but more akin to ‘recommendations’.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
