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We are told the reason the cabinet cannot lift the state of disaster is that it needs to keep it in place in case there’s a fifth wave of Covid-19. Meantime, a number of still quite onerous conditions remain in force, including highly restricted attendance at indoor and outdoor gatherings such as sports events.
Retaining the current state of disaster “in case there’s a fifth wave” defeats the object of the legislation: a new national (or regional) state of disaster can be implemented at any time. This is like parking a fire engine outside a building “in case there’s a fire”. This is an approach which would have served parliament and the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital quite well, but would not be necessary in a properly managed state.
Michael Fridjhon, Parktown
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Flawed rationale for state of disaster
We are told the reason the cabinet cannot lift the state of disaster is that it needs to keep it in place in case there’s a fifth wave of Covid-19. Meantime, a number of still quite onerous conditions remain in force, including highly restricted attendance at indoor and outdoor gatherings such as sports events.
Retaining the current state of disaster “in case there’s a fifth wave” defeats the object of the legislation: a new national (or regional) state of disaster can be implemented at any time. This is like parking a fire engine outside a building “in case there’s a fire”. This is an approach which would have served parliament and the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital quite well, but would not be necessary in a properly managed state.
Michael Fridjhon, Parktown
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.