The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the long and overdue regulations paving the way for the personal care industry to reopen. That it has taken so long, a looming court date and the tales of so many who have lost so much, is one of the biggest tragedies of this lockdown.
Personal care providers will now be able to operate with immediate effect subject to health protocols.
From the very outset, the DA warned the government that its indefinite ban on the personal care industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of people in hair salons, beauty stores and tattoo pallors, was unconstitutional and illegal.
Minister Dlamini-Zuma has a lot to answer for. She has played fast and loose with the livelihoods of people across the country by criminalising people who just wanted to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table. For many, these regulations and reopening of the industry is too late.
Dlamini-Zuma’s contempt for court, after missing two imposed deadlines for filling of opposing papers in our case speaks volumes, and highlights the disdain she has for the judiciary as well as the hard working men and women of this country.
The DA is glad this painful battle is over for those that work in the personal care industry however we will continue to hold Dlamini-Zuma accountable for her actions and inactions during this lockdown.
Click here to contribute to the DA’s legal action challenging irrational and dangerous elements of the hard lockdown in court