AfriForum and Solidarity serve court papers about the state of disaster

2 February 2022

AfriForum and Solidarity today respectively served court papers in terms of which these organisations request the courts to declare the continuation of the current state of disaster invalid.

In its court papers Solidarity contends that the ongoing extension of the state of disaster is irrational and extremely damaging for the economy as well as for social and political norms in South Africa.

“By its own relaxation of regulations, the government has actually already announced that the disaster is a thing of the past. The Disaster Management Act has always been intended to create a drastic, yet very short-term situation – for the very reason of allowing the government to move quickly,” Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann said. “It is absurd that the ruling party wants to keep us in a semi-autocracy that has become almost permanent simply because they have not created any significant additional capacity at hospitals to this day.”

Solidarity explains that by lifting the state of disaster it is not implied that the virus has disappeared; it simply means that the disastrous consequences that justified an initial lockdown no longer exist.

“It is not about whether we are finally done with the virus or that the virus has disappeared. If that has to be the criterion then we will forever be subject to a command council with few checks and balances to regulate it. The point is that Covid-19 has now become manageable without such drastic measures. All indications point to the fact that the disease is now endemic. The virus will be with us for a long time, but the disaster is over. However, to cling stubbornly to the state of disaster will be disastrous in itself,” Hermann argues.

According to Solidarity, the Disaster Management Act does not provide for preventive action. It can only be used to manage a threatening active disaster.

“A continuation of the state of disaster based on the principle that there may well be another wave in the future, is clearly deranged. How according to such logic would one ever return to a functioning democracy?” Hermann posits. “It is time to make an end to the Command Council, to empower people to take their own decisions and to stop the disruptive uncertainty that is crippling our economy.”

To peruse Solidarity’s full court papers, click here.

Issued by Connie Mulder, Head: Solidarity Research Institute, 2 February 2022