Govt to impose curfew as business counts the cost and sport codes set to suffer big losses
In its second submission, the DA deals with the issue of a curfew between 20:00 and 05:00, which the opposition party calls “unjustified”.
“The DA is alarmed by the lack of trust demonstrated by the government in the people of South Africa through the imposition of this curfew, likely backed by military force.
“This is an extraordinary limitation of civil liberties that should meet an extraordinarily high threshold before it can be justified. It does not meet that threshold in this case, and the DA is vehemently opposed to the curfew as a matter of principle,” Steenhuisen added.
The DA suggests the government implement social mobilisation efforts through education and raising awareness instead, saying there is no need for the militarisation, and the formal curfew imposed on citizens.
“If the government fails to heed our warning to rescind the planned enforcement of a military curfew, the DA reserves our right to challenge the move in court, because we place our trust in citizens rather than in coercion,” he concluded.
The deadline for public comment on the government’s risk-adjusted strategy closed on Monday at 12:00.
The government is expected to gazette the final version of the five-level alert system sometime this week.
