Cabinet Opts to Extend National State of Disaster by Another Month
- Cabinet has approved a further extension of the national state of disaster by another month
- Cabinet had met ahead of the looming State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening
- The national state of disaster will now be extended until 15 March
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Cabinet has met ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Addressed and approved an extension of the national state of disaster.
Source: UGC
Gathering on Wednesday, Cabinet opted to extend this period from 15 February to 15 March and this move will soon be officially gazetted.
While Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has opted to move ahead with the extension, the move has not been warmly welcomed by all.
The many extensions have come under fire with some feeling that the Disaster Management Act gives the state the power to act as they like for an extended period of time.
The Citizen reports that Accountability Now director Paul Hoffman has commented on how the state of disaster, unlike a state of emergency, allows the government to act without having to account to Parliament.
Hoffman feels that this Act, intended to deal with floods, fires and droughts, has no actual bearing on the Covid-19 crisis:
“Under a state of emergency, enshrined in the constitution, there would have been far more stringent conditions applying, as well as supervision by parliament. No wonder why they chose to use the Disaster Management Act."
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za reported that Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen is adamant that President Cyril Ramaphosa won't be giving South Africans an honest State of the Nation Address later this week.
Calling for a factual assessment of the nation's current situation, the opposition leader insisted that Ramaphosa won't be the person who ultimately delivers it:
"He will underplay our economic crisis, he will overplay the government’s Covid response and he will outright lie about our vaccine plan."
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Source: Briefly News
