By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma notified DearSA and AfriForum of government’s intention to oppose their court bid.
DearSA has accused government of having no intention to end the State of Disaster.
“This response indicates that the government has no intention of lifting the State of Disaster. And that, despite previous promises, the overreaching regulations are here to stay,” DearSA media officer, Tim Flack, said in a statement.
With the current State of Disaster set to end on Tuesday, 15 March Flack said DearSA will continue with its legal action.
LEGAL ACTION TO END THE NATIONAL STATE OF DISASTER
DearSA received notice from the Minister of Cooperative Governance stating that the government intends to oppose our application.
This response indicates that the government has no intention of lifting the State of Disaster pic.twitter.com/Eqy7XoHlD1
— DearSAfrica (@DearSA_national) March 14, 2022
Last month, Afriforum and DearSA approached the Pretoria High Court in a bid to have the State of Disaster declared invalid arguing that the Covid-19 pandemic was not of the requisite magnitude anymore.
Dlamini-Zuma also recently informed business group Sakeliga via a letter that the State of Disaster would be ended when “adequate measures to deal with the effects of Covid-19 beyond the State of Disaster have been finalised.”
The State of Disaster will be terminated once the National Health Act regulations are finalised.
The Department of Health is currently amending the regulations so the country can move out of the State of Disaster.
The regulations will cover surveillance and control of notifiable diseases, public health measures at points of entry, management of human remains and environmental health.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to announce a further month’s extension to the State of Disaster if regulations are not ready by Tuesday, with the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) expected to meet on Monday.