Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has been accused of acting like an ‘irrational dictator’, over the extended State of Disaster rules – Photo: Flickr / GCIS
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has been accused of acting like an ‘irrational dictator’, over the extended State of Disaster rules – Photo: Flickr / GCIS
COGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has received both barrels from her critics on the opposition benches of Parliament, after the State of Disaster was extended for one more month.
Dlamini-Zuma labelled ‘irrational dictator’
The government reneged on a promise to lockdown laws TODAY, and instead, remaining restrictions will be with us until Friday 15 April. A dispute over which department must regulate COVID mitigation strategies is allegedly behind the delay, but that excuse won’t wash well with Dlamini-Zuma’s opposite number.
Cilliers Brink, the Shadow COGTA Minister, has called for the immediate dismissal of NDZ, branding her as an ‘irrational dictator’. With her signature at the bottom of the latest State of Disaster renewal, Brink argues that the senior ANC representative has ‘orchestrated another power grab’.
“The COVID-19 pandemic in its current form no longer conforms to any reasonable definition of ‘disaster’, and scientists in South Africa and abroad have called for lockdown restrictions to be lifted.”
“This move from Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is nothing but a power grab in order continue to give ANC cronies and comrades easy access to COVID-funds, and to trample upon fundamental Constitutional rights.”
“It is time Dlamini-Zuma was fired. Her brand of irrational dictatorship is eroding the economy and causing job losses on a massive scale. The decision to extend the State of Disaster was done without proper consultation.”
Cilliers Brink
Western Cape Premier raises red flags
There’s also serious concern coming from the office of Alan Winde. The Western Cape Premier revealed on Tuesday that regular protocols for extending the State of Disaster were skipped this time round.
The President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) involves Cyril Ramaphosa meeting with the nine provincial premiers, in order to detail the latest developments with our lockdown restrictions. This was binned off before the SoD renewal was made, and Winde remains puzzled by this snub.
“Despite Minister Dlamini-Zuma herself indicating that the PCC would be the appropriate platform for engagement on this issue, after my correspondence to President Ramaphosa in February, no such meeting was held.”
“Then on 11 March, my office received a further letter from Minister Dlamini-Zuma effectively saying the disaster will end once ‘adequate measures are introduced’. No details of when were provided. What is equally concerning is that a PCC was, in fact, scheduled for this past weekend but then suddenly cancelled.”
Alan Winde
