SCA to decide on rules

THE battle over the North Gauteng High Court ruling declaring the national lockdown unconstitutional, irrational and invalid is heading to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) as the government faces more legal challenges.

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma wants the SCA to urgently provide clarity on North Gauteng High Court Judge Norman Davis’s ruling delivered last month, as it is sowing confusion.

According to Dlamini Zuma, this was undesirable given the importance of compliance with the regulations.

She maintained that the high court erred when it declared the regulations unconstitutional even before they were promulgated, as the matter was heard the week before they came into effect on June 1, which the minister describes as a radical error.

“Level 3 regulations were not part of the debate before the court; they were not yet published. This error strikes at the heart of the high court’s judgment and orders,” reads Dlamini Zuma’s affidavit filed at the SCA on Friday.

Dlamini Zuma is appealing against Judge Davis’s order declaring six regulations irrational, saying he hand-picked them to test the rationality of all the regulations promulgated in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA).

Judge Davis also refused Dlamini Zuma leave to appeal against his decision.

“The DMA regulations, including the six regulations, drastically affect the lives of all South Africans. If they are in breach of the Constitution, that needs to be determined as a matter of high urgency. If they are constitutionally compliant, and thus valid and binding, that too must be determined without delay,” she said in the affidavit.

The six regulations range from the curfew, restrictions on the movement of children, limited attendance of funerals, closing of beaches and public parks as well as businesses that can operate, and on-site consumption of liquor, among other things.