The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to appear before Parliament to explain her decision to extend the COVID-19 national state of disaster by yet another month.
DA Shadow Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cilliers Brink, argued that having a constant state of disaster not only sets a dangerous precedent for constitutional sovereignty, but also makes economic recovery nearly impossible, especially when considering growth limits.
Brink said Minister had extended this declaration 21 times in the last two years, without accounting to Parliament or the South African people, and without taking into account the constitution or ordinary citizens’ economic prospects.
The Minister Dlamini Zuma has on January 14, Gazetted the extension of the National State of Disaster on COVID-19 until 15 February 15 2022.
“With this extension, we are taking into account the need to continue strengthening existing legislation and contingency arrangements undertaken by state organs and all other role players to mitigate the negative impact of the disaster on people’s lives and livelihoods,” said Dlamini-Zuma.
According to Brink, even while this claim was accurate during COVID-19, the government was under normal circumstances unable to deal with the epidemic when it posed a serious threat to the health system. It is no longer valid today.
It’s not the Omicron variant, or even further COVID-19 variants, threatening South Africa at the moment. The real crisis in South Africa is its economic downturn, which has left millions of people living in poverty. “The ANC’s response to COVID-19 has only worsened conditions,” added Brink.
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