With a new date set for the State of National Disaster, some political parties remain concerned about the wide-ranging powers given to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Opposition parties are challenging the powers granted by the National Disaster Act, saying it leaves parliamentary oversight out in the cold.
With the State of Disaster now extended to 15 July and with no restriction on how many times the Cogta Minister can extend this. Dlamini-Zuma has the last word, on what gets gazetted, the do’s and don’ts during the lockdown.
“Those regulations need to be rational. There must be a direct link between those regulations and seeking to slow down the spread of the virus or to contain the virus. In particular, the act says any regulations that are made must be with the purpose of assisting and protecting the public, providing relief to the public, protecting property, combatting disruption and finally dealing with the destructive effects of the disaster,” says Lawson Naidoo, Casac Executive Secretary.
However, opposition parties want more parliamentary oversight of the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The constitution is very clear, that all organs of state must be accountable to parliament. We believe that these defects in the Disaster Management Act need to be repaired so that never again, do we end up with a situation where we have a disaster and an authoritarian government which uses it as an opportunity to make sweeping regulatory changes with no reference whatsoever to the elected legislature in the country,” says John Steenhuisen, Interim DA leader.
“There is no accountability from the minister towards parliament and it cannot play an oversight role as is determined in a constitutional democracy. That is the reason why we are also approaching the courts, to say the Disaster Management Act is unconstitutional,” says FF Plus leader, Pieter Groenewald.
“We are also very concerned about the wide-ranging powers which Minister Dlamini-Zuma has in terms of the National Disaster Act and the limited role that parliament can play in ensuring that illogical and irrational (regulations) are not passed,” says ACDP leader, Steve Sweet.
University of Cape Town (UCT) Constitutional Law Professor Pierre de Vos, says opposition parties have plausible and strong arguments.
De Vos says in a time such this, quick and fast action is needed to respond to the disaster.
In this video, opposition says they want to challenge powers granted by National Disaster Act:
