By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to support the economy and end curfew before New Year’s Eve.
Currently, South Africa is on an adjusted level 1 with a curfew set in place from midnight until 4am.
Steenhuisen said ending the curfew is an easy and logical way to boost the economy, particularly the restaurant and events industry, which are major employers and have taken huge strain and made immense sacrifices during the pandemic.
He said both the economy and national morale need to be boosted.
“People should be able to legally come together with friends and family to celebrate the start of 2022 and the end of an incredibly tough 2021,” Steenhuisen said.
He added that most people weren’t observing curfew anyway.
“This underscores the irrationality of the curfew, which is doing more harm than good by undermining the rule of law. Are the police going to arrest people celebrating New Year’s Eve? Law enforcement should be focused on preventing drunk driving and real criminality, not curfew, so that law-abiding people can safely usher in the New Year,” he said.
The DA has opposed the curfew since the start of the lockdown measures. The opposition party claims there is little justification for restricting the movement of people and curtailing the operating hours of businesses such as restaurants and bars.
Earlier in December, AfriForum approached the courts to try to get the curfew declared unconstitutional and set aside.
Gauteng Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba, however, ruled there was no justification for the matter to be heard on an urgent basis and struck the matter off the roll.