Petition launched to dissolve National Coronavirus Command Council

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has launched a petition against the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), accusing it of being irregularly constituted and unscientific.

Political analyst Ongama Mtimka from the Nelson Mandela University said he strongly supported the petition action.

“It’s time the operational arrangements made to manage Covid are subjected to critical scrutiny, given the impact they may have on the political system,” he said.

“Attempts by stakeholders to challenge the underlying regulatory or functional principles of the institutions formed to respond to Covid should be strongly submitted,” Mtimka said.

Professor Ian Sanne, a member of the Covid ministerial advisory committee, said the NCCC and Disaster Management Act were reviewed monthly.

“If the parliamentarians vote to stop the Disaster Management Act (NDA), it is done by a simple majority. The public health measures available to the president, NCCC and cooperative governance and traditional affairs are suitable,” he said.

“I would recommend waiting until January to determine if the current public health control measures were adequate to prevent a significant fourth wave of Covid infections.”

Professor Alex van den Heever, chair of social security systems administration and management studies at the Wits School of Governance, said though he had concerns about the initial functioning of the NCCC, he believed it was now effectively part of Cabinet’s decision-making process.

“The NDA has to continue to allow the social relief of distress grant to continue. It also may be required for further restrictions,” Van den Heever said.

The NCCC was established at the declaration of the National State of Disaster on 15 March, 2020 and acts as a super legislator, abrogating the role of parliamentary oversight.

“At its inception, President [Cyril] Ramaphosa repeatedly described the function of the NCCC as making ‘decisions’, but then backtracked to say it only made ‘recommendations’, despite persisting evidence of its rulings over how South Africans live and do business,” the IRR said.

Public health lawyer Safura Abdool Karim said it was not the first time a group has challenged the existence of the council.

“The Democratic Alliance did it and a few other groups also tried. The court was very clear that the NCCC was a legitimate body,” Abdool Karim said.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za