DA interim leader John Steenhuisen.
Photo: Facebook/John Steenhuisen
DA interim leader John Steenhuisen.
Photo: Facebook/John Steenhuisen
Democratic Alliance (DA) interim Leader John Steenhuisen has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of lacking courage as he announced on Thursday 14 May that the party would challenge the constitutionality of lockdown regulations in court.
Following a largely negative response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Wednesday 13 May, his opposite number vowed to end the lockdown by ensuring that the National Command Council (NCC) is subject to proper oversight through a revision to the Disaster Management Act.
He reiterated his position that many of the lockdown regulations were arbitrary and unnecessary, and said that the lockdown needs to end as soon as possible to avoid complete economic catastrophe.
Speech left country ‘bitterly disappointed’
Steenhuisen said that nothing of substance was offered in the president’s speech.
“South Africa tuned in last night in the hope that he would show us the way forward, but an hour later he had barely said anything,” he said.
“He told us his government had often got it wrong over the last seven weeks of lockdown, which is true. He told us that South Africans had played their part and made enormous sacrifices, which we know.”
“But when it came to the part we were waiting for – the opening of our economy so that our people can get back to work – South Africans were left bitterly disappointed.”
He said that if the current administration was unable to accomplish a successful exit from the lockdown and stop “living in fear”, that the DA would do it for them.
“One by one we will fight and overturn every decision and every regulation that is either irrational or immoral until we have done what the president could not do – end the hard lockdown.”
“Today our lawyers will be filling papers in the High Court challenging the rationality of three separate lockdown issues – the night curfew, the ban on e-commerce and the restriction on exercise hours.”
“It is our opinion that all of these decisions should be immediately reversed as there are no rational justifications for them. These decisions are taken by the National Command Council because they are acting without any checks and balances.”
DA to challenge alleged constitutional infringements
He announced that DA lawyers would be submitting court papers on Thursday in a bid to see the current structure of the NCC revised so as to allow more equitable and just constitutionality.
“Our lawyers will be filing court papers challenging the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act. Unless the Act meets constitutional muster, the decisions taken by the NCC under his act are not valid.”
“This speaks to one of the most crucial principles in our democracy – the separation of powers. The executive branch of government and a separate branch of parliament exist for a very good reason.”
Referring to the alleged undermining of Ramaphosa’s decision to lift the ban on cigarettes by Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minsister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, he said that the NCC is currently on track to derail the very principles of democracy.
“Right now, because of the lack of oversight, the executive is writing our laws as they please, bypassing all the debate, amendment and opposition that would have happened in Parliament.”
“We have to fight this, because from here our democracy finds itself on a very slippery slope.”
‘Laughable regulations’
The application to the High Court entails the revision of the Disaster Management Act itself, so as to align its operating structure with that of a state of emergency where parliamentary oversight applies.
“What we will ask the court to do is to apply the same oversight provisions to the state of disaster as to the state of emergency because without it, petty authoritarians hopped up on power are being allowed to run amok.”
“We have seen cigarettes alcohol and hot food arbitrarily banned, and that’s when you see laughable regulations about kind of shoes you can buy and how you should wear them.”
“None of these things make any difference in delaying the spread of the virus. Its all just a massive overreach by the kind of ministers who should be nowhere near power.”
