ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has accused Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, of not upholding the laws of the constitution. His party has also given instruction to its legal team to prepare for an urgent High Court review should the regulations be made final in their present form.
Mashaba said Dlamini-Zuma was blatantly unconstitutional and acted out of her legal authority in her draft surveillance regulations, which were published in March 2022.
He said: “ActionSA believes the regulations are unconstitutional and involve the Ministers of Health and COGTA granting themselves powers that were never intended in our law or Constitution. Despite the President announcing the end of the National State of Disaster, the regulations allow the Ministers of Health and COGTA to continue infringing upon the sacred constitutional freedoms of South Africans.”
The ActionSA leader condemned the implementation of obligatory medical examinations, treatment, preventative care, isolation, and quarantine provisions.
He said the consequences of compliance with the regulations would be less severe for those with resources.
As a result, the implementation of these regulations, he said would lead to unequal treatment before the law.
“The regulations allow for exemptions from border entry requirements without detailing the specifications for such exemptions, leaving room for preferential treatment.
“The regulations do not provide for accountability of decision-makers that use their authority in an arbitrary manner, which creates the opportunity for abuse of power,” he said.
Mashaba added: “The inclusion of Regulation 16M (which explicitly mentions potential future lockdowns and severe restrictions on economic activity) indicates that the government believes that it should exercise its authority to limit economic activity when it feels justified to do so. Not only will the implementation of such restrictions actively damage the livelihoods of South Africans already living under the pressures of high unemployment, but its mere inclusion will further harm investors’ confidence in our country.”
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