Today, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, once again extended the national ‘state of disaster’ to 15 April 2022.
The initial state of disaster was declared 2 years ago, in March 2020.
The negative economic and social impacts of this have been felt as businesses, education and society have all suffered great losses.
In the extension notice, Minister Dlamini Zuma states a “need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements undertaken by organs of state to address the impact of the disaster.”
The Democratic Alliance (DA) and civil society organisations have spoken out against the state of disaster and rules imposed by it.
“The National Coronavirus Command Council is profoundly undemocratic. There is great risk to our democracy in a small group of individuals taking decisions on all our behalf without parliamentary oversight and other democratic checks on power” says DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen, “The State of Disaster has become no more than a cover for increasing centralized control and evading accountability. It must go.”
