r350 grant

COGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – Photo: GCIS / FLICKR

NDZ adds new ‘arrestable offence’ to Level 4 laws – and it’ll affect the EFF

This really is a hard lockdown: The move to Level 4 now comes with a new ‘arrestable offence’ – and Dlamini-Zuma may be looking directly at the EFF here…

r350 grant

COGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – Photo: GCIS / FLICKR

The rules and regulations for this adjusted phase of lockdown Level 4 have now been gazetted by COGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, officially ratifying them in law. Just hours after President Ramaphosa finished his speech, NDZ had the new restrictions up and running. However, there was a surprise addition to the paperwork.

Level 4 gets tough: What is the new incitement law?

Cyril Ramaphosa had outlined almost everything mentioned in the gazetted rules already – apart from new laws on ‘incitement’. According to the text, anyone who encourages others to defy lockdown laws will now be held liable for an offence themselves – and the punishment could come with up to six months in jail.

This is bad news for the EFF and their senior leaders, who have spent the best part of the last two weeks threatening to disobey the State of Disaster regulations. Their march to the SAHPRA offices last week have since landed the party with criminal charges – but Juju and his comrades have vowed to carry on with their defiance.

“Any person who incites, instigates, commands, or procures any other person to commit an offence in terms of these regulations commits an offence themselves, and on conviction, will be liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period that does not exceed six months. Both punishments could also be administered [concurrently].” | State of Disaster laws

Does this new arrestable offence target the EFF?

It’s clear that senior government figures are now seething with the Red Berets. Ramaphosa indirectly chastised the group for their ‘vaccine march’ on Friday, which brought thousands of people together on the streets of Gauteng. The head of state also blasted the campaign against SAHPRA as ‘distressing’.

“It is extremely distressing when political leaders launch personal attacks against such people for doing the job they have been assigned to do. We must remember that SAHPRA is an independent regulator that focuses only on scientific evidence to ensure safety, quality, and efficacy in the interest of public health.”

“SAHPRA must be allowed to do its job without intimidation or political influence so that when vaccines are approved the public can be confident that the vaccines are safe, of good quality, and will work.”

Dlamini-Zuma gazettes further amendments to State of Disaster

The nuggets of new information don’t stop there, either. Dlamini-Zuma’s published regulations now implore district municipalities to communicate in a clearer fashion with their residents, in order to inform them about the spread of COVID-19 on a local level. The following directives were issued on Sunday night:

  • – All municipalities must alert certain districts about increasing numbers of infections.
  • – They must publish information about areas with high infection rates on their websites, and in local media publications.
  • – There’s also a legal requirement for municipalities to update these details on a regular basis.