The Democratic Alliance (DA) says there’s no point in proceeding with its court challenge against government now that the COVID-19 vaccination plan has been released.
The party took government to court demanding a detailed plan about the acquisition and rollout of the vaccine, saying government’s conduct is irrational and unconstitutional.
DA wants government to publicly table the COVID-19 vaccine acquisition plan:
Party leader John Steenhuisen says they will closely monitor the implementation of the plan.
“Now that we have the vaccine action plan as well as the details that we have requested from government, there is obviously no point in carrying on with the case. What we will be doing is to monitor and hold government accountable to its commitment that they have made. It’s very important that the timelines are met and various other aspects of the plan are rolled out.”
We welcome the national Government’s long-delayed release of its Covid vaccination strategy & plan – but we greatly regret that we had to threaten court action before the government made the plan publicly available. –@jsteenhuisen https://t.co/14Ij3SR8u1
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) February 20, 2021
Presidency welcomes withdrawal of case
The Presidency says it welcomes the withdrawal of the DA’s case. It says government has provided public updates on its plans.
In a statement, the Presidency says government has provided regular public updates on vaccine plans
“It should be noted that government representatives, including the President and the Minister of Health, have provided regular public updates on these measures, and the plans outlined in government’s answering affidavit were already in the public domain. The DA, therefore, had no good cause to bring its application in the first place.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa vaccinated:
Western Cape vaccinations
Meanwhile, The Western Cape government says 385 people had been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the province by Thursday afternoon.
Premier Alan Winde says in a statement that health officials are working hard to deliver the 13 000 Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccines to healthcare workers.
Earlier this week, Sister Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosi from the Khayelitsha Hospital on the Cape Flats, became the first healthcare worker in the country to be vaccinated. President Cyril Ramaphosa was also vaccinated in Khayelitsha.
Healthcare workers in Khayelitsha start receiving vaccine:
