FF Plus asks court to find Act invalid

The urgent court application by the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) challenging the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act was heard in the High Court in Pretoria yesterday.

The party is requesting the court to declare section 23(8) of the Act unconstitutional and invalid. It is under this Act that the government implemented a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The FF Plus argued that the government’s extension of the national state of disaster was subject to debate and a resolution by parliament. “There was no plenary, debate or even a briefing of a committee of parliament preceding the declaration of a national state of disaster on 15 March.

“The regulations published in terms of the Disaster Management Act on 17 March 2020 were not scrutinised by any form of a legislative oversight mechanism.”

According to party leader Pieter Groenewald, the balance of public interest between curbing the virus and unlocking the economy to prevent the loss of livelihoods should come into play.

He argued parliamentary oversight was curtailed to the detriment of the constitution and its supremacy thwarted.

“If the derogation is done through the vehicle of the Disaster Management Act [DMA], the absence of similar provisions as found in the State of Emergency Act, renders the DMA superior to the constitution and clothes the relevant minister with powers that parliament and the president do not have. Such powers would not flow from or be countenanced by the constitution.”

The FF Plus argued it was a “fallacy” parliament had exercised any oversight during Covid-19. The party added that of 866 questions asked by members of both Houses of the executive since 14 April, 363 remained unanswered at the time of filing their affidavit.

In a responding affidavit, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise argued parliament did not go into a hiatus on the declaration of a national state disaster, but held the executive to account and exercised effective oversight over the executive and constitution.

“Although the DMA does not explicitly make provisions for parliamentary oversight, that obligation is imposed on parliament by the constitution.”

The Democratic Alliance is fighting the constitutionality of the DMA in the Constitutional Court. The party said its application raised “fundamental questions about the separation of powers between parliament and the executive”. – News24 Wire

It was a ‘fallacy’ parliament had exercised any oversight during Covid-19.