Africa-Press – South-Africa. AfriForum says it is heading to court after the government’s decision to extend the National State of Disaster by another month.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced the extension on Tuesday. The current state of disaster was set to expire on Wednesday.
AfriForum condemned the decision in a statement released after the announcement.
The organisation said it had started legal action in February to nullify the state of disaster.
“This again proves AfriForum’s point that the government has no plans of ever giving up the powers they have grabbed under the guise of an emergency over the last two years,” said AfriForum’s campaigns manager Jacques Broodryk.
“There is no reason to continue the state of disaster unless you’re a power-hungry politician or the countless corrupt individuals who are profiting from emergency procurement irregularities.”
The organisation said there was “currently no disaster and hence no need for a state of disaster”.
Dlamini-Zuma said the National State of Disaster would expire on 15 April.
She said the decision was taken so that the government and organs of state could have enough time to “continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements” to ensure that new legislation was in place for the continued management of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic after the termination of the state of disaster, News24 reported.
The state of disaster was first declared at the end of March 2020.
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