DA gives notice of proposed amendments to Disaster Management Act
25 February 2021
Note to editors: Find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cilliers Brink MP.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will introduce draft legislation to limit the power of the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to extend a national state of disaster and to issue lockdown regulations.
Last week a notice to this effect was published in the Government Gazette calling on interested parties and institutions to submit written representations on the proposed content of a draft Disaster Management Amendment Bill which the DA will introduce.
Currently Parliament has no role in the decision of the minister to declare and extend a national state of disaster. Unlike in a state of emergency, Parliament also has no power to disapprove of regulations issued under such a declaration.