DA grants extension to Presidency to justify Garden Route beach closures

16 December 2020

Please click here for a soundbite by the Leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen MP.

The Democratic Alliance has received formal correspondence from the Presidency requesting an extension to the proposed deadline of 17:00 today, to provide reasons justifying the closure of beaches along the Western Cape’s Garden Route.

We have written back to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma granting them an extension to 10:00 on Thursday 17 December 2020.

The fact that national government has requested additional time to prepare a response to our letter requesting reasons for the decision to close the Garden Route’s beaches only demonstrates that there was none to begin with. It would seem that any reasons now provided would be ex post facto manufactured.

Should it be evident that the decision to close the Garden Route’s beaches be without rational reasons and therefore unlawful, as we believe it to be, we will file papers.

Issued byJohn Steenhuisen,Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 16 December 2020