Home

Sakeliga opposed to state-driven mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies in SA

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The business rights group, Sakeliga, has voiced its opposition to mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies in South Africa.

In his address to the nation last Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government is looking into making vaccines mandatory for certain activities.

Sakeliga’s CEO  Piet le Roux says they are against the state using private entities to enforce arbitrary restrictions.

” We are against mandatory vaccination policies by the state and the system of social monitoring the state and we are against the state using private entities to enforce its changing and arbitrary restrictions,” says Le Roux.

Le Roux says they will support voluntary vaccination campaigns.

“We will support voluntary vaccination campaigns but what is interesting at the moment is we are confronted with a proposal to give politicians the power to have a constant system of social monitoring in place. We are already sitting in a situation where 80% or so of people in SA have developed antibodies – be it with the vaccines or having recovered from infected already – so the benefits of a mandatory vaccine is exceedingly low,” adds Le Roux .

A letter by a law firm representing Sakeliga and  four other business organisations notes their opposition to vaccine passports and the exclusion of unvaccinated persons.

“Our clients each have different perspectives regarding the appropriate government response to the issue. However, our clients are opposed to state-driven mandatory vaccination policies and monitoring mechanisms such as vaccine passports, penalisation and exclusion of unvaccinated persons, and regulatory obligations on business to aid and enforce mandatory measures,” notes the letter.

 

 

 

South Africa remains on lockdown alert level one, as scientists assess the impact of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant.

SA government discussing the introduction of mandatory vaccination: Ramaphosa

Universities

Proof of vaccination against the coronavirus will be required to register at all four major institutions of higher learning in the Western Cape.

The universities earlier announced that they would move towards mandatory vaccinations for staff and students.

The Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Western Cape and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology signed bilateral agreements with the provincial Department of Health.

 

In October, Rhodes University in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory in order to allow all staff and students back on campus for the next academic year.

This follows the university council’s approval of the senate recommendation for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.

Ultimately, this means that students, as well as staff, will be required to produce proof of vaccination before they can set foot on campus.

Director for Communication and Advancement, Luzuko Jacobs says, “The recommendation and the approval follow a thorough investigation of the law but also taking into account the proven irrefutable evidence that the vaccines can help in terms of mitigating some of the major risks.”

“It is on this basis that the university working with stakeholders both internally and externally have arrived at this position where the university is able to do the best it can to create a conducive environment that is protected from overt risks,” adds Jacobs.

More universities contemplating mandatory vaccination:

The Wits SRC has come out strongly in opposition to the idea of mandatory vaccination.

They say compelling people to vaccinate goes against people’s right to choose, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Wits SRC President Sithembiso Dabula says: “We are rejecting mainly because we are pro-choice. We are not saying students mustn’t vaccinate, we are against the framework that Wits is proposing. So, Wits is forcing students and staff to vaccinate. So, we are not against people vaccinating, we are against Wits forcing people to vaccinate. People should decide for themselves whether they want to vaccinate or not.”

Author

MOST READ