President Ramaphosa addresses lockdown’s legal challenges

Amid a flurry of legal challenges aimed at relieving lockdown’s constraints, President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated his support for the country’s robust constitutional democracy.

As part of his customary Monday-morning address, entitled From the desk of the President, Ramaphosa elaborated on the constitutionality of government’s approach to dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa. This comes as the country nears almost two months under lockdown.

As noted by the president, a wave of public criticism, emanating from individuals, religious bodies, political parties, NGOs and business organisations, has been aimed directly at government’s lockdown strategy. Several of these complaints have posed legal challenges to regulations of the Disaster Management Act, which gazettes and governs laws pertaining to the lockdown at its various levels.

Ramaphosa welcomes constructive criticism

Ramaphosa, who has been on the receiving end of heightened critique in recent weeks, noted that the same Constitution which guided government’s efforts also afforded every citizen the right to legal recourse. In this way, the president voiced his support for the country’s judicial system, saying:

“While we would prefer to avoid the need for any legal action against government, we should accept that citizens who are unhappy with whatever action that government has decided on implementing have a right to approach our courts for any form of relief they seek.

This is a normal tenet of a constitutional democracy and a perfectly acceptable practice in a country founded on the rule of law.”

The president added that stringent regulations, implemented during a time of crisis, which limit personal freedoms and access to the economy, would, naturally, face strong opposition. Ramaphosa explained that constructive criticism would assist government in adapting and formulating progressive approaches, saying:

“As government we have neither called for such critique to be tempered or for it to be silenced.

To the contrary, criticism, where it is constructive, helps us to adapt and to move with agility in response to changing circumstances and conditions. It enriches public debate and gives us all a broader understanding of the issues at play.”

Ramaphosa noted that while lockdown regulations were created to withstand constitutional scrutiny, the South African judicial system would hold government to account if it were found to be wanting.

Legal challenges and looking towards Level 3 lockdown

Ramaphosa’s remarks come at a time when both the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) line up legal challenges aimed at revoking numerous lockdown laws.

In addition to the political challenges, government has been forced to fend off a host of legal bids resulting from the controversial prohibition of tobacco and alcohol. A court challenge tabled by the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita), looking to overturn the ban on cigarettes, is expected to be heard in the coming weeks.

Similarly, individuals and ‘concerned collectives’ have lodged their own legal challenges; some taking aim at the lockdown laws and some challenging the very constitutionality of the lawmakers themselves; the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC).

President Ramaphosa is expected to elaborate on the easing of restrictions, as government’s district-based model readies to downgrade risk levels according to regional responses.