From next week, government will face a slew of court battles testing both the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act and the legality of some of the measures it has applied to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus
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DA’s shadow minister of justice and constitutional development, Glynnis Breytenbach. Picture: Netwerk24Breytenbach said it was paramount to have the constitutionality of important legislation, such as the Disaster Management Act, tested, so as to ensure that there was no erosion or suspension of civil liberties, particularly during a time of national disaster.
“As recognised by the Constitutional Court, the parliamentary process is one which embraces openness, encourages critical debate and allows for greater input into law-making, resulting in a richer, more nuanced outcome which may guard against any unintended consequences where such plurality of views is lacking,” said Breytenbach.
The minister has since filed a notice indicating that he does not “intend to oppose the abovementioned application and shall abide by the decision of the court”.Confirming the court date, the group’s senior campaign official, Natasha Venter, said that AfriForum did not expect the trial to commence on Tuesday, only for the court to only issue a trial date.
“We have made a legal application to the Supreme Court of Appeal about the department of tourism’s BBBEE [broad-based BEE] requirements for providing financial relief to tourism businesses,” said Venter.The Freedom Front Plus has also approached the Pretoria High Court with an urgent application to challenge the validity of the National Disaster Management Act and to request a finding by the court that the government is abusing the act.
Echoing the same sentiments as Breytenbach, Francis Antonie, director of the foundation, said: “The Disaster Management Act vests extraordinarily wide-ranging legislative and executive powers in the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs to deal with issues arising out of occurrences like Covid-19.”
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