BusinessLive reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has instructed its lawyers to bring an urgent court application to challenge an “irrational and unreasonable” extension of the state of disaster in SA.

The party would also seek to bring to an end to the lockdown regulations, leader John Steenhuisen said. He indicated on Thursday: “It’s not enough to end the state of disaster. The lockdown itself must end. It can’t just become permanent legislation, as the government is trying to do. When the government moves lockdown regulations into permanent legislation instead, the DA will mount a legal challenge to those too. The lockdown is not in SA’s best interest. On the contrary, it is pushing more and more people into joblessness and deeper into poverty.” He made the announcement two days after co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma signed off on an extension to the state of disaster until 15 April. At the end of March, SA will have been under a state of disaster for two years. Steenhuisen said his party would not allow the state of disaster to be “glibly” extended month after month. The decision to extend the state of disaster was no longer about fighting the spread of Covid-19 but rather the ANC’s desperation to cling to power, Steenhuisen claimed.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nonkululeko Njilo at BusinessLive

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