Ramaphosa should fire NDZ after illegal tobacco ban judgment

12 December 2020

The Democratic Alliance welcomes the hard hitting judgment by the Western Cape High Court against the imposed tobacco ban during the State of Disaster.

Lets be very clear, this ban was nothing other than Minister Dlamini-Zuma using Covid-19 and the State of Disaster as a cover to push her ideological hatred for tobacco products.

It is embarrassing the President Ramaphosa and the entire Cabinet were reduced to mere spectators while the Minister played fast and loose with the Constitution during the entire spectacle.

More importantly, the Court found that Regulation 45 of the Disaster Management Act, which gave life to the tobacco ban, was inconsistent with the Constitution. This is a position that the DA and many industry role-players said from the very outset.

This is a devastating blow to Governments ham-fisted handling of the lockdown and Covid-19 pandemic. It should also be a shot across the bow of President Ramaphosa that all future regulations must be in line with the Constitution and freedoms which South Africans enjoy, and have fought so hard to achieve.

If President Ramaphosa wishes to restore his credibility in the eyes of the public following this devastating judgment against his government and Minister, he should immediately fire Dlamini-Zuma and apologise unreservedly to South Africa. We don’t want “collective responsibility”.

Issued by Dean Macpherson, DA Shadow Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, 12 December 2020