DA to appeal Presidency’s decision to hide legal advice on the State of Disaster
16 March 2023
The DA will appeal the decision taken by the Presidency to deny us access to the record of the legal advice that President Cyril Ramaphosa relied on when he took the decision to declare a State of Disaster (SoD) on the loadshedding crisis. Ramaphosa’s refusal to play open cards on the SoD is in stark contrast to the claim he made that his government will strive for accountability and transparency in the implementation on the SoD.
On 16 February, the DA submitted a PAIA application to the Presidency on which we sought to obtain documentation on the record of decision that informed the declaration of the SoD and the legal advice that the President relied on to make that decision. The Presidency responded today indicating that the request on the documentation of decision has been referred to the Director General in the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
For the legal advice that informed the President’s decision, the Presidency declined to give the DA access to the record with no reasons given. The DA will now exercise its rights in terms of sections 74 and 75 of the PAIA to appeal the decision of refusal based on the view that it is unreasonable and is a deliberate attempt to shield information that is in the public interest.
The Presidency’s actions have set a dangerous precedent for the entire government system directly involved in implementing the SoD, wherein they will now see accountability and transparency as optional. With no direct accountability to Parliament, the SoD is predictably becoming cloaked in secrecy, and the Presidency is leading the way.