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- The Mayor of Garden Route, the DA, as well as the local business forum and AfriForum, are challenging the government over the decision to close the beaches in the Western Cape district.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of certain public beaches and parks during the holiday season due to Covid-19.
- The closure applies to all Eastern Cape and Garden Route beaches, while in KZN, beaches will be closed on what are “traditionally the busiest days of the season.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, face several challenges from the decision to close the beaches on the Garden Route during the holiday season due to Covid-19.
The objections have been officially raised by the Garden Route Municipality, Great Brak Business Forum, the AfriForum lobby group and the DA. All have expressed their concern about the economic impact of the decision and have questioned its rationality and constitutionality.
In a notice of motion filed in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday, the business forum and AfriForum stated their intention to have Regulations 69 (12) (a), (b), (c) and (d) amended. of Covid-19. ) declared unconstitutional.
AfriForum said in a statement that limiting access to beaches, which were public property, amounted to restricting a basic human right.
Regulations state that all beaches in the Eastern Cape, as well as the Garden Route in the Western Cape, will be closed from December 16 to January 3, 2021.
The KwaZulu-Natal beaches, however, will only be closed on the busiest days of the season, namely December 16, 25, 26 and 31, as well as January 1-3.
An overview of a popular desert vacation destination that is generally packed with tourists this time of year on December 7, 2020 on the Garden Route.
In a lawyer’s letter to Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma, the prosecutor urgently requested the reasons for the decision to impose a blanket closure for the Garden Route, rather than a nuanced approach for KZN.
The district attorney could go to court if he doesn’t get reasons before the end of Wednesday.
Garden Route Mayor Memory Booysen said they were calling for the same limited beach closures as Kwazulu-Natal.
He said that, as it stands, the general closure of the beaches was a “hard pill to swallow because we are a tourist destination and our economy is still struggling to recover from the harsh blockade.”
Booysen convened an urgent Garden Route District Coordination Forum Tuesday morning, where he engaged with local city mayors, city administrators, command center group leaders, and SANParks stakeholders.
He also engaged with Cape Nature, the National Tax Authority, Western Cape Health, SAPS, and the Western Cape local government department to discuss the consequences of the announcement.
Booysen said: “Our request and engagement request / submission this morning and, since the beginning of the Covid-19 resurgence in our region, it has been for the Garden Route beaches to remain open.”
The presentations were presented at a Provincial Coordination Forum (PCF).
He also said that the submissions will be communicated to the National Coronavirus Command Council, with the backing of the Western Cape government.
As the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa reaches 866127, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced new restrictions, including the closure of some beaches during the holiday season. Https://t.co/KR7LQt8kSM
– News24 (@ News24) December 15, 2020
AfriForum agreed that mass rallies on beaches should be prohibited, “taking into account that no social distancing is maintained during these meetings.”
But both AfriForum and DA said that being outdoors and in the sun was healthier and less risky than being indoors.
AfriForum campaign manager Monique Taute said: “The alternative is for people to turn to places like shopping malls and restaurants that have a much higher risk of spreading the virus.”
The national spokesperson for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Lungi Mtshali, said they were not aware of any legal challenges.
Presidential spokesman Tyrone Seale was not immediately available for comment.
During his stern address to the nation on Monday evening, Ramaphosa said that gatherings, “especially social gatherings and parties, are the biggest source of outbreaks.”
He said that with many of these gatherings, no social distancing was observed, crowded venues were not adequately ventilated, hand sanitizer was not available and people were not wearing masks, News24 reported.
The president also lamented that many people consume alcoholic beverages at “super spreader events, with the result that people become less careful about taking steps to protect themselves and prevent infections.”
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