Johannesburg - The Presidency says the DA had no cause in bringing its court application to force the government to reveal an already public vaccination programme.
This follows as the DA has decided to withdraw it court application where it sought to force the government to reveal details on its plans to procure vaccines.
The Presidency filed an answering affidavit in the court matter where it outlined the country’s vaccination programme. This has since seen the withdrawal of court matter by the DA.
The presidency said it welcomed the move.
“The Presidency welcomes the withdrawal by the Democratic Alliance of its application in the Western Cape High Court against the government on the country’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy.
“It should be noted that government representatives, including the president and the minister of health, have provided regular public updates on these measures, and the plans outlined in government’s answering affidavit were already in the public domain.
The DA, therefore, had no good cause to bring its application in the first place,” the Presidency said.
Over 10 000 healthcare workers were vaccinated in the country using the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine as part of an implementation study.
This forms part of the government’s first phase of the vaccinations which includes healthcare workers.
The next phases will include frontline workers and eventually the bulk of the population.
The government had said the aim was to vaccinate 40 million people by the end of the year.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize had promised that more vaccines have been ordered from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
DA leader John Steenhuisen, in response to the Presidency’s filing, questioned why the Presidency has taken so long to respond to the court filing.
“We have made it clear to the Presidency that we will be monitoring the implementation of the plan at every step of the way, and he will see us back in court if the government’s actions show it is incapable of delivering on its commitments,” Steenhuisen said.
Political Bureau