Dlamini-Zuma’s pursuit in tobacco ban case equally worrying

It certainly looks as though the tobacco ban is the political hill that Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has chosen to die on.

As is the case with many government ministers, she has unlimited taxpayer funds at her disposal to pursue her campaign to crack down on that particular demon weed.

READ MORE: BAT SA and Dlamini-Zuma’s tobacco tussle nearing conclusion

She and her expensive legal team are now before a full bench of the Western Cape High Court applying for leave to appeal a judgment of that same court that last year’s ban on the sale of tobacco products as part of the Covid-19 restrictions, was invalid and unconstitutional.

Why, we wonder, is she pursuing this matter so doggedly? It’s all a long way in the past by now.

The possible motives are equally worrying.

She may want the judgment overturned so she can reimpose the tobacco ban if another national crisis (health or otherwise) hits South Africa.

ALSO READ: Bad news for smokers: High court says cigarette ban was rational

Or, she may be pursuing her own agenda as an anti-nicotine evangelist, under the banner of making South Africans healthier and saving treatment costs for smoking-related conditions.

At the same time, the tobacco ban’s real beneficiaries were illegal cigarette traders.

Surely, Minister, you don’t want to see them prosper again?

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