DA drags govt to court challenging extension of national state of disaster

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has announced that his party will file urgent court papers, challenging government’s decision to extend the national state of disaster.

This follows government’s decision this week to extend the state of disaster until 15 April 2022, as it comes up with health measures to manage the Covid-19 pandemic outside of the Disaster Management Act.

DA challenges state of disaster

Addressing the media on Thursday afternoon, Steenhuisen said there was no scientific justification for the latest extension of the state of disaster.

He said the state of disaster, which has been in place since March 2020, was pushing South Africans into joblessness and deeper into poverty.

“I have today instructed our attorneys to bring an urgent court challenge to Tuesday’s irrational and unreasonable extension of the state of disaster.

“It is urgent because we cannot be in a state of disaster for another day,” Steenhuisen said.

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The DA leader said the “real disaster” facing the country was the unemployment crisis and rising levels of poverty.

“This crisis poses a far higher risk to national wellbeing and is causing far more suffering than Covid is,” he said.

Legal action

AfriForum on Tuesday also announced that it would take government to court again for extending the national state of disaster.

The lobby group began legal action in February to declare the station disaster invalid, arguing that there was currently no disaster in South Africa.

ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said his party was exploring all possible avenues of challenging government’s decision because they feared the state of disaster would continue indefinitely.

The leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) Bantu Holomisa on Wednesday also announced that his party would challenge the constitutionality of extending the state of disaster.

Holomisa said the UDM would join other organisations, including AfriForum, in opposing the state of disaster as amicus curiae or friends of the court.

Proposed health regulations

Meanwhile, Steenhuisen said the Department of Health’s proposed health regulations to deal with the pandemic and the Department of Labour’s new code of conduct for managing Covid-19 in the workplace – meant that the lockdown was here to stay.

“Let’s be clear about what all of this means. It means that South Africa will be under a state of disaster indefinitely and that the lockdown is now becoming permanent,” he said.

“All signs are that the government will continue to extend the state of disaster until it has permanent legislation that can keep the lockdown in place.”

The Department of Health on Wednesday published the proposed health regulations to deal with covid-19 outside the national state of disaster for public comment. South Africans have until 15 April 2022 to make their views heard on the proposals.

READ MORE: proposed draft Covid-19 regulations set to replace State of Disaster

Lockdown unnecessary and irrational  

Steenhuisen said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government had always claimed to be guided by science in managing the pandemic. However, he said the science was clear that the lockdown was no longer unnecessary as it was “irrational and unreasonable”.

Steenhuisen said severe Covid illness and hospitalisation rates were extremely low across the country, including transmission rates.

“When the president proudly states that his government’s Covid response is guided by science, he should be honest and admit that this is only true when it enables more sweeping, unchecked powers.

“Because when the science points in the other direction – as it is very clearly doing now – his government pretends not to see or hear it,” he said.

It is time for South Africa to focus on regaining and transcending what had been lost due to the lockdown and its related restrictions, Steenhuisen added.

“And it is high time to restore our democratic order.

“The DA will not allow the state of disaster to be glibly extended, month after month. We will stop it in court.”

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