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Civil society group Dear South Africa has approached the High Court to overturn the “extension of the blockade” that was introduced on November 13.
The group argues that the blockade extensions are illogical and are being done without parliamentary oversight, as required by the Constitution.
Dear South Africa is also asking the court to declare the latest closure extension under the Disaster Management Act illegal.
“South Africa is no longer facing the uncertainties it faced when the initial state of disaster was enacted,” said Daniel Eloff of Hurter Spies, the attorneys representing Dear South Africa.
“Consequently, the government cannot continue to take advantage of a state of disaster for which the underlying and motivating reason has largely dispersed eight months since the initial declaration of the state of national disaster.”
The only defendant in the case is the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. You have until November 18, 2020 to object to the matter.
Unsupervised
In an affidavit before the court, esteemed South African director Rob Hutchinson argues that constitutional rights have been restricted by disaster regulations, including the rights to freedom of movement, residence, assembly, economic activity and education.
Businesses were closed at the beginning of the Covid shutdown, schools were closed, and the rights of citizens to move and practice their professions and trades were severely restricted.
“While many of these restrictions on fundamental rights have been lifted, the (minister) has imposed these restrictions without parliamentary oversight and may re-impose them.
“The (minister) has the power to extend the state of disaster monthly ad infinitum without such supervision,” the court request said.
The group argues that if a second wave of infections occurs, the state has had enough time to prepare for this and a new state of disaster could be declared based on new circumstances that may arise.
“It is not correct to keep the current state of disaster in perpetual effect on the basis that a new disaster may occur on an unknown date,” he said in his court request.
The government announced the extension of the current state of disaster on November 14 in a bulletin published by Dlamini-Zuma. The current extension will now end on Tuesday, December 15.
While the state of disaster originally expired on June 15, the law provides that the Cogta minister can extend the state of disaster, by notice in the bulletin, for one month at a time before it expires.
The government declared a national state of disaster under Section 27 (1) and Section 27 (2) of the Disaster Management Act on March 15, 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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