Cyril Ramaphosa could address South Africa ‘within the next 48 hours’ -Image: GCIS/ Flickr
Cyril Ramaphosa could address South Africa ‘within the next 48 hours’ -Image: GCIS/ Flickr
Time is ticking down on our State of Disaster laws, which are set to officially expire on Tuesday 15 March. There’s still a lot of confusion about what South Africa will wake up to tomorrow, as the government continues to dawdle on making its final decision. Cyril Ramaphosa is, however, likely to make an address in the coming days.
Ending the State of Disaster: What’s the hold-up?
As far as we understand it, the Cabinet will not end the State of Disaster until coronavirus mitigation measures are added to South Africa’s EXISTING laws. This would allow the ANC to stop leaning on emergency powers, and instead, lift lockdown laws that have been in place for the last two years.
The main hold-up, as it stands, is deciding on who exactly must regulate future COVID protocols. It was initially meant to be a job for the Health Ministry, but some of the ANC’s top brass say responsibility must be shared amongst the Cabinet. The panic around lifting these measures is extraordinary, given our latest virus stats.
Positive COVID stats ‘should be considered’
South Africa is nearing ‘record lows’ when it comes to COVID hospitalisations, weekly deaths, and daily cases. With vaccines widely available, and a large majority of the population already exposed to at least one prior infection, citizens now have a substantial wall of protection against the disease.
Weekly update of #COVID19 in South Africa????????
— Ridhwaan Suliman (@rid1tweets) March 13, 2022
With hospitalisations and deaths approaching previous lows, probably little reason for ???????? to remain under a State of Disaster:
• Cases -7% ⬇️
• Tests -4% ⬇️
• Test positivity at 6.2% ⬇️
• Hospitalisations -23% ⬇️
• Deaths -52% ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1qKMdsAcIj
End or extend: When will Cyril Ramaphosa address the nation about the State of Disaster?
Regulations need to be ready by Tuesday at the latest. If not, Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to address the nation and confirm there will be ANOTHER extension to the State of Disaster. If, however, a breakthrough is made at some point on Monday, the president could host a final family meeting on the matter TONIGHT (14 March).
It’s also possible that, should the State of Disaster stay in place, Ramaphosa could choose not to make any address until PERMANENT COVID-19 guidance has been adopted into law. When that might be, however, remains anyone’s guess – but the public can’t be kept in the dark for much longer.
