Pretoria - Putting South Africa under a national state of disaster is an abuse of legislation.
According to trade union Solidarity, this will discourage economic investment into the country and enable looting of state funds.
Solidarity has served court papers on the government to get the state of disaster due to the electricity crisis declared irrational and unjustifiable.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the National State of Disaster during the State of the Nation Address last week.
He said the government's plan of intervention to put a stop to the load shedding that crippled the economy.
Among the government’s plans announced to put the brakes on load shedding is a minister of electricity, who will drive and monitor the turn-around strategy, working with a special committee and Minister of Energy Gwede Mantashe, Public Enterprises Minister Pravidn Gordhan and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele.
According to Solidarity, the state of disaster was a political theatre to make the president and the government look like they are doing something about a crisis which they created by failing to maintain infrastructure and increase capacity to match future demands.
Solidarity said it was time for the government to let the private sector and the community assist with energy generation. CEO Dr Dirk Hermann said the government was the cause of the electricity disaster and it could not declare itself a disaster, thereby obtaining extraordinary powers to address the situation. He said disaster legislation was not meant for government failures.
"We do not have a short memory. We remember the abuse of power during the Covid-19 state of disaster, and how funds were looted.
A state of disaster to deal with the electricity crisis is a disaster.
"A state of disaster is an extraordinary instrument that revokes certain rights and government processes temporarily.
The government can thus bypass certain rights and freedoms … A state of disaster is … a state of exception and a process that is in conflict with normal democracy. Therefore, extreme caution must be used when dealing with it.
"A state of disaster is intended to be a temporary intervention only and should be used only if no other instrument is available to deal with the situation. This means that if another legislative instrument is available, it must be used," said Hermann.
Solidarity believies that drastic steps are needed to deal with the electricity crisis. It attributed the crisis so far to a lack of will to do the right things.
"It is not the intention of disaster management legislation to cater for institutional failure.
“Disaster legislation may not be used to correct government failure.
"Every measure announced in President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address can be implemented by using other statutory instruments.
“If other instruments exist, disaster legislation does not apply. If this state of disaster is allowed to continue, a dangerous precedent will be set.
“This could mean that South Africa will face a future of being a disaster democracy. Government failures such as failure to deliver water and sewerage services, failing municipalities, the implosion of infrastructure and other problems can then also be managed by bypassing normal democratic processes by declaring a state of disaster. This was never the intention of disaster management legislation."
Hermann said the government also had a poor track record when it came to disaster management.
During the Covid-19 pandemic the country saw how initial positive expectation about the state of disaster faded as it morphed into a disaster itself.
It led to absurd abuse of power such as fines imposed for weeding a sidewalk, the police making people jump like frogs, slapping a ban on buying flip-flops and warm food, the closing of beaches and banning of cigarettes, together with many other restrictions.
He said a total of 411 000 South Africans were arrested for breaking Covid-19 state of disaster rules. In addition to these absurdities, the Covid-19 emergency funds became a source of looting.
Dozens of companies have been implicated in fraud related to the Covid-19 state of disaster.
Unlawful deals worth billions were made to procure protective clothing. Officials, including the former Gauteng MEC for health, a City of Joburg mayoral committee member, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, and the then minister of health and some of his family members were suspended for being implicated in the theft of disaster funds and equipment.
The matter will be heard in court on March 14.
Pretoria News