Yesterday greeted and now on the hot seat for his handling of the crisis in the coronavirus, the president Cyril Ramaphosa and his government will have to quickly rectify, or even back down on some measures in the framework of the confinement imposed until then. Indeed, the justice of south africa ruled on Tuesday 2 June : “The measures enacted by the minister of Co-operation and traditional Business “, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, “are unconstitutional and invalid,” said a judge in Pretoria, seized by NGO and a third party. The magistrate, however, suspended the application of its decision for two weeks to give the government time to “review, amend and republish” the measures to their eyes contrary to the law.
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anti-Covid deemed to be more stringent
The president of south africa Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered on the 27th of march to its 57 million citizens a containment designed to slow the spread of the Covid-19, which, to this day, has infected more than 35,000 people and killed more than 700 of them.
If it has helped slow the progression of the disease, this measure has also put the country’s economy, already in recession, slow, and has considerably limited the freedom of movement of the population.
The head of the State has gradually relaxed this strict diet. The country is thus past Monday, the health alert level 3 – on a scale of 5, which notably enables the graceful restart of almost all sectors of the economy. His careful approach has given rise to several criticisms, both of his political opponents to ordinary citizens who think it is dangerous for the survival of the economy and individual freedoms.
In the judgement on Tuesday, the magistrate has estimated that a series of restrictions imposed on the citizens, particularly to attend funerals or take part in sports, was ” not rationally justified by the objective to slow down or limit the rate of infection by the virus.”
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The justice could pack it
In a brief statement, the government has confined itself for the time being of the “take note” of the court decision. In the meantime, it is on another front that he will have to quickly react, because the justice could pack. The group British American Tobacco (BAT) announced on Friday that it referred the matter to the justice of south africa to challenge the prohibition of sales of tobacco imposed by the government as part of its measures against the new coronavirus. In announcing last week a relaxation, the president Cyril Ramaphosa has lifted the ban of alcohol sales, but maintained that of cigarettes ” because of the health risks of smoking “.
This decision has provoked the wrath of the industrialists and merchants of tobacco, which have been negotiating since weeks a green light to the resumption of their activities. Number 1 in the south african market, the local subsidiary of the giant BAT (BATSA) has focused on Friday the case before the court. “Given the situation and the lack of response, despite our requests, the government, we are committed to take urgent action in justice “, said one of its leaders, Johnny Moloto, in a press release.
“We owe it to our consumers, our customers and our employees to do everything in our power to protect the legitimate tobacco market in South Africa and in order to quickly put an end to the prohibition that applies to our products,” continued the officer. BATSA has 78 % of the south african market of the cigarette and has contributed, via taxes, to the tune of 13 billion rand (670 million euros) to the budget of the State.
The use of the group received the support of other producers, sellers, and associations of smokers, who claim the ban is fueling a lucrative trafficking of contraband products.
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