Professor Thuli Madonsela, as part of the Social Justice and Covid-19 Policy and Relief Monitoring Alliance (SCOPRA), has highlighted shortfalls in the implementation of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following the High Court judgment which declared some Covid-19 regulations unconstitutional and invalid, handed down by Judge Norman Davis, the panel sent a policy brief to the presidency, outlining how government can move forward to properly implement the DMA.
She added that government should have conducted this evaluative exercise to understand the impact of regulations on human rights and whether the impact can be justified.
"This means that before promulgating regulations which impact on individuals’ rights, the Government should have conducted an evaluative exercise, to determine the impact and take appropriate steps to mitigate that impact," Madonsela said.
While Davis' judgment may be flawed, according to Madonsela, it does contain "wisdom" on the duty by government to conduct a human rights impact assessment before implementing laws or policies.
