Johannesburg: The DA has again slammed the extension of the national state of disaster, claiming it was undermining investor confidence in the country.
On Wednesday, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma gazetted the extension of the Covid-19 national State of Disaster, which was set to end on Thursday, to November 15.
This comes as the country continues to put measures aimed at containing the spread of the pandemic, despite the decline in the rate of infections and the increase in recoveries, at 90%.
While the government has stressed the importance of ensuring that a resurgence or a second wave of infections was avoided, the DA blasted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration and accused it of engaging in “blatant power grab”.
DA interim leader John Steenhuisen accused the State of Disaster of cutting parliamentary oversight on the work of members of the national executive, including holding them accountable.
“It effectively allows the government to run a dictatorship, making new laws that fundamentally affect people without having to consult Parliament. This has absolutely nothing to do with the virus,” Steenhuisen said.
By Thursday noon, SA’s confirmed Covid-19 cases were at 696 414, with 626 898 recoveries and 18 151 deaths.
Steenhuisen said the party was calling for the ending of all restrictions, including on international travel, the trade of alcohol, schooling and the current midnight curfew.
This comes as Ramaphosa was expected to table his government economic recovery plan in Parliament on Thursday.
“Step one of President Ramaphosa’s recovery plan that he is presenting today should be a lifting of the national state of disaster and full end of the lockdown. That would give investors some confidence that more rationality and stability can be expected in future,” Stenhuisen said.
Countries that dropped their Covid-19 restrictions in Europe, including Germany and Poland, have moved to enforce the regulation to fight the infectious virus. | Political Bureau