Low-grade civil war is playing out in NCCC and Cabinet, claims DA

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says they are appalled at the “shambolic” handling of the Level 3 regulations which were supposed to have been given to the country on Tuesday.

This comes after Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has delayed two national briefings this week regarding how Level 3 lockdown will be implemented, and in particular, which businesses will be allowed to operate, and how they will be affected.

“We have now been subjected to two successive cancellations where South Africans would be told what life would be like under Level 3,” said DA MP Dean Macpherson in a statement on Wednesday.

Macpherson said should the government have a press conference by Thursday, the matter would leave businesses and workers with one working day’s notice on how they should proceed when the country moves to Level 3 on 1 June.

“This is simply not good enough as many question marks remain regarding health protocols for each sector and trading hours for the liquor industry.

“These protocols may be complex and require time to implement in many industries. To give such short notice may render many sectors unable to open due to lack of compliance,” he said.

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The MP further said it was very clear that there was a “low-grade civil war” playing out in the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and Cabinet over these regulations which has resulted in the consecutive cancellations”.

“The ministers and president can not agree on what the regulations should look like is now abundantly obvious while the country is left wondering what Monday may look like.

Without firm leadership by the president and a good session of ‘bashing heads’ together in the command council, South Africans will remain at the mercy of inept and incompetent ministers who are charged with putting these regulations together.

“As each day passes, the contempt that this government has for the country and those trying to protect their livelihoods becomes more apparent,” he said.

Macpherson concluded saying that it was critical that thee regulations were released immediately and the needs of the country were put above the disagreements within government.

(Compiled by Molefe Seeletsa)

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