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By Zelda Venter 
2h ago
Pretoria – While it is accepted that the closure of some of the country’s beaches will have an economic impact on tourism, it is only a temporary measure and not an issue that the courts are equipped to address through urgent procedures.
This is according to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who opposes an application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, regarding the closure of some of the country’s beaches in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19. The matter will be heard today.
The Great Brak Business Forum and AfriForum will ask the court to urgently overturn government beach closures, especially along the Garden Route. However, the order will also affect the closure of the KwaZulu-Natal beaches on certain days, as well as the closure of beaches in the Eastern Cape.
The legal offer is to declare unconstitutional the recently enacted Covid-19 regulation regarding the closure of beaches.
This regulation stipulates, among other things, that all beaches in the Eastern Cape, as well as along the Garden Route, will be closed from December 16 to January 3. It also ruled that all beaches in KwaZulu-Natal will be closed on December 16. , 25, 26 and 31, as well as from January 1 to 3.
In his opposition affidavit, Dlamini Zuma said that the second wave of Covid-19 was exacerbated by the holiday season, and that these emergency measures were vital in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.
“These are not normal times … Adjustments must be made,” he said.
The minister pointed out that the restrictions on the beaches are only temporary and that the limitation on access to the beaches should not be seen in isolation.
She said the amended disaster management regulations also curbed meetings both indoors and outdoors.
The minister said that the applicants’ complaints that these amended regulations were made without consulting the relevant parties were unfounded as the Disaster Management Law did not require public participation. He only needed to consult with the cabinet, which he did.
The minister further said that the number of positive Covid-19 cases had skyrocketed lately in the wake of the second wave, which forced the government to take action, especially during this holiday season, to try to reduce the spread.
Unless overcast events are curbed, hospitals simply won’t cope, he said.
According to AfriForum, limiting access to beaches, which were public property, amounted to restricting a basic human right.
It will argue that therefore the government cannot have different regulations for different beaches.
The civil rights organization agrees that mass rallies on beaches should be prohibited, as no social distancing is maintained during these gatherings.
But he said it was unconstitutional and discriminatory to close certain beaches given the enormous economic impact it would have on especially coastal towns that suffered all year long from the closure regulations.
Meanwhile, Dlamini Zuma said that the applicants’ focus on these proceedings was limited. “The government’s focus has to be much higher. You have a duty to all South Africans to create balance and support the economy to the best of our ability, while saving lives….
“A critical aspect of this is ensuring that our health system remains functional and effective.”
The minister said it was for these reasons that the government had to adopt an insensitive approach. He said it was a difficult exercise to balance all the considerations.
The beaches, he said, were social gathering places where people interacted, which in turn increased the risk of transmission.
He said that although South Africa was at lockdown alert level 1, certain adjustments must be made from time to time in an attempt to try to save lives amid the pandemic.
Pretoria News
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