The DA says only the Constitutional Court has the power to resolve and provide guidance over challenges presented by Section 27 of the Disaster Management Act , which places far-reaching powers in the hands of the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
It says the Act should be declared as unconstitutional for three reasons: the minister is given power to legislate on almost every aspect of the lives of South Africans; it permits the minister to place the nation under a simulated state of emergency without being subjected to procedures and safeguards contained in Section 37 of the Constitution; and it fails to ensure the national assembly can exercise the oversight role.
“These broad powers rest with the minister alone. She is subject to no effective oversight. She is, moreover, permitted to delegate these legislative powers, creating a mini legislature of other cabinet members that serve at her pleasure,” continued the party. Both level 3 and 4 have since been found to be invalid and unconstitutional in a separate matter brought before the North Gauteng High Court by the little-known Liberty Fighters Network.The government argued that parliament, not the judiciary, could devise mechanisms of oversight over the executive.