The Democratic Alliance has called for a wider opening of the economy as the country prepares to ease lockdown restrictions by moving from Alert Level 5 to Alert Level 4 on Friday.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said that the opposition party had submitted two proposals in response to government’s call for comment on its risk-adjusted strategy.
He said the move to Level 4 of the lockdown was meant to allow for a greater level of economic activity, but there was far too little to distinguish Level 4 from Level 5.
Steenhuisen said they supported a much wider opening of the economy, adding that “there is no evidence to say why this should not happen.”
“There has been little to no transparency around the data or analysis being used to guide government’s response. Secondly, a wider opening can still achieve the same level of public safety if the government changes its approach from one based on force to one based on trust,” he said.
In a wide-ranging statement, the opposition leader criticised the deployment of additional SANDF members, “in the hands of incompetent ministers”, to enforce compliance.
He said at the heart of their submissions lies the clear lack of trust on the part of government towards citizens.
The DA leader said it is in the detail “where it has become clear that this is nowhere near the opening of the economy that is required.”
He called for the regular publication of data on which decisions, around alert levels and which industries would be allowed to trade, should be based.
Steenhuisen said their second submission questioned the imposition of a curfew to be enforced by 75 000 soldiers.
“This is an extraordinary limitation of civil liberties that should meet an extraordinarily high threshold before it can be justified,” he said, hinting at possible legal action.
"No amount of force or coercion will bolster compliance in the absence of understanding and trust."
