Impact of National Disaster Management regulations on religious sector; with Minister and Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson opened the virtual meeting, welcoming the guest delegates. She indicated that all presentations were made during the previous meeting, held on Tuesday. The purpose of this meeting was to allow for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission) as well as the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) to present and provide responses.

Whilst religious leaders have made several complaints regarding government and its regulations, besides the Sunni Ulama Gauteng Council (SUGC), religious leaders have not described how they plan to assist government in flattening the curve.

The Chairperson indicated that due to conflicting commitments, the Minister would have to leave the meeting at 19:45pm. She handed over to the Minister for her opening remarks.

Minister’s Opening Remarks

Minister of CoGTA, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, mentioned that the National Executive, not CoGTA, is primarily responsible for the coordination and management of a National State of Disaster (NSoD). Prior to Cabinet taking a decision, it must first consult the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) to gather input from the provinces. Once that process has been completed, the President then announces Cabinet’s decision, and CoGTA subsequently gazettes the regulations.

In making its decisions, Cabinet does refer to scientific evidence that is provided by the Department of Health’s (DoH) Ministerial Advisory Committee, which advises CoGTA on the infection trends. Government has made its decisions based on either the increase or decrease of infections across the country. For instance, as the infection rate was low going into November 2020, government permitted the religious sector to continue its activities. However, once the second wave arrived, drastic measures had to be taken to aid in flattening the curve. Every sector that gathers people has been regulated and it would not be possible for government to treat the religious sector differently.

The President has, on a number of occasions, consulted faith-based organisations regarding the Covid-19 regulations. He has taken their concerns into consideration, hence he announced Cabinet’s decision to increase the limit of gatherings to 250 people indoors (previously 100) and 500 outdoors. Cabinet took this decision because it wanted those in the religious community to celebrate their respective faith-based holidays, such as Eid Mubarak and the Easter Weekend.

With the advent of the third wave, government has had to introduce stricter regulations to slow down the spread of the virus and it would not be possible for it to allow faith-based organisations to go on as normal, whilst other sectors cannot. These regulations even affected government’s usual June 16th celebrations, with only 50 people being present at the event, whilst the President had to conduct the address virtually.

Government wants to assure religious leaders that its regulations are not targeting faith-based organisations. It has had to implement these measures in order to balance saving lives with saving livelihoods. The Cabinet is appreciative that several of the faith-based organisations have cooperated with government during this period.

Mr S Swart (ACDP) asked if the Committee could pose questions to the Minister before she leaves the meeting.

The Chairperson indicated that the Department would first brief the Committee before Members are able to pose questions to the Minister.  

Briefing by CoGTA on the impact of the regulations on the religious sector

Officials from the Department briefed the Committee on the impact of the lockdown regulations on the religious sector. They began by indicating that following a Cabinet decision, the Minister declared a NSoD in terms of Section 27(1) of the Disaster Management Act (DMA), on 15 March 2020. This was in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past year, since the NSoD was declared, government has instituted social distancing regulations, with the aim to control the Covid-19 outbreak and ensuring that lives are saved. In terms of Section 27, the Minister of CoGTA has the power to make regulations without public consultation. However, all decisions have been made in consultation with the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), and with Cabinet’s approval.

Due to high transmissibility of the virus, government has had to place restrictions on the size of gatherings, which has affected several sectors, including the religious sector. Prior to implementing Lockdown Level 5 last year, government did consult with faith-based organisations and since then, they have consulted by the President, through the PCC. The President also has a forum where he engages with the sector from time to time.

Religious leaders have been recognised by government as essential workers and have been placed in the second group of essential workers who are to be vaccinated.

The Department has been concerned by recent allegations of police brutality towards church worshippers and leaders. All allegations should be escalated to the relevant authorities for further investigation.

Mr Swart pointed out that the presentation had not touched on the concerns raised by religious officials in the previous meeting. As the Minister was soon due to leave the meeting, he suggested that Committee set aside another time to engage the Minister. Much of what was said in the presentation did not add to the discussion at hand.

The Chairperson indicated that the Minister agreed to instead stay in the meeting until 20:15pm.  

She requested that officials should not repeat much of their remarks on Tuesday.

The Chairperson of the South African National Christian Forum (SANCF), Bishop Marothi Mashashane, mentioned that the presentation did not speak directly to the issues raised. Each issue raised by religious officials should have been referred to individually.

The religious sector feels discriminated by government’s regulations for several reasons – the first being that churches have only been allowed to have a service on a Sunday for only two hours, whilst casinos are open to the public the whole week. Secondly, religious leaders have not been consulted by government, regarding the regulations. As the Minister mentioned that government has consulted religious leaders, he asked for the names of the leaders it had engaged with. These officials did not have a direct mandate from faith-based organisations. Thirdly, all other sectors have been provided financial relief by government whilst the religious sector has not. The sector has been excluded from the Solidarity Relief Fund. Government should have provided relief to pastors when it closed churches. All citizens are equal before the law and should be treated that way by government.

The Executive Director of Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA), Mr Michael Swain, asked four questions. Had government held consultations before its latest shift to Lockdown Level three? If it had, who had it consulted and why was FOR SA not included, as it represents 11 to 18.5 million people? Thirdly, why had government not used a differentiated approach, as only four provinces are officially in the third wave. Fourthly, if the decision was based on scientific evidence, can government provide this information?

The new regulations have brought further limitations to the religious sector, but there has been no shift in the limitations of the taxi industry, which has a high potential in contributing to the spread of the virus. This decision seemed illogical and not based on science.

Pastor at the Unity Fellowship Church (UFC), Pastor Mukhuba, said that government could not continue basing its decisions to limit church gatherings on the spread of the virus last year at a church in Bloemfontein, as this occurred prior to the Covid-19 regulations. There have been instances of the virus spreading in other sectors, yet they have not been limited by government. The officials who have been government on these matters should be better educated.

Several people are suffering emotionally and spiritually because they do not have access to churches. Further, worshippers have been left traumatised by the police brutality they have faced. She asked how the government could explain why police officers have attacked worshippers. This issue should be considered by the Department.

Apostle Balcan Mufamadi asked for the Department to provide a list of the religious leaders who have been consulted by government. None of these leaders have a mandate from the sector.  

There are several limitations in place for faith-based organisations, whilst other sectors are able to function normally. This has left the sector feeling as if government did not listen to them, and that government had used it as a scapegoat. Churches have requested that government allow for 50% capacity at services.

The Chairperson of the Council for Charismatic Churches (CFCC), Pastor Lucas Nkosi, said it was disappointing that the Department still referred to the cases in South Korea and Free State as evidence that churches are super spreaders. No scientific evidence has been used by government when it has made its decisions.

The religious sector was not consulted in January on the regulations.

He disputed the Department’s claims that Cabinet consults the provincial governments prior to making decisions. There are minutes from the Gauteng Provincial Government that show that it had not been consulted.

The President of the Godly Governance Network, Pastor Bacca Mengezeleli, said that the consultation process is flawed, as religious leaders do not know who has represented them during consultations. He requested that the Committee find out which leaders were part of the consultations with the President, as it seemed that only the South African Council of Churches (SACC) leaders were being consulted.

Pastor Moloi of the SACC denied these claims and indicated that the SACC had never been consulted.  

The Chairperson said that she had not recognised Pastor Moloi.  

Pastor Mengezeleli was pleased that there are plans to engage with the religious sector, but he asked for clarification on the plan going forward.

Pastor Sello Motsiri-Kharoli asked whether the vaccine was safe to be administered. Additionally, why had traditional herbs not been considered by the DoH?

He requested that the Minister of CoGTA engage with the Minister of Police (MoP) on the police brutality shown towards worshippers.

Minister Dlamini-Zuma clarified that she did not say that government consulted the sector all the time; she only said that it consulted them from time to time. To provide clarity, the Minister listed the religious representatives that government consults, some of which were the SACC, NICA, African Independent Churches (AIC) and the Charismatic Pentecostal Churches. Usually, two to three officials from each organisation are present at the meetings, with a total of 50 officials at meetings. If additional organisations would like to be present at the meetings, they should forward their names to government so that the list can be revised by the President.

Faith-based organisations were consulted in March before government decided to adjust regulations. However, government did not consult them prior to instituting Level three regulations, recently, as it had to take urgent action due to the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases.

Referring to the question on the differentiated approach, she said that it had been debated in the PCC, but due to the increase seen in all of the provinces, it could not be applied. Additionally, with the high interprovincial travel, government anticipated that the spread would have been higher. Government did not want more provinces entering into a third wave.

NSoD has been in place, as directed by Section 27 of the DMA. All decisions taken regarding the NSoD have been taken by both Cabinet and the NCCC, not CoGTA on its own. 

Religious officials are considered as essential workers and are currently grouped in the second group of essential workers who are in line for a vaccine. They have not received their jabs yet because the rollout has been slower than anticipated.

All police officers should enforce the law, and they should do so without acting in a brutal manner towards citizens. Police brutality should be condemned. This matter will be taken up with the MoP.

Government would provide a response on the question of relief, as several other sectors have not received relief.

Explaining why she had to leave to a meeting scheduled at the same time as the Committee’s, she said that the meeting had been planned earlier in the year, to take place on this evening, as it was known that Parliament would be on recess. It is not the case that the Department had not prioritised the issues. She indicated that whenever she is available, she will and does attend Committee meetings.

The Chairperson excused the Minister from the meeting. She said that it was true that when the Minister is available, she does prioritise Committee work.

She apologised to the Minister for taking up more of her time.  

The Chairperson opened the floor for discussion.

Discussion

Mr I Groenewald (FF+) said that it was only the second time that the Minister had been present at a Committee meeting this year and it was the first time that Members were able to engage with her. Members do not see the Minister enough and another meeting with her should be scheduled in the future.

Mr C Brink (DA) mentioned that Section 27 of the DMA is not a correct, sufficient, and constitutionally acceptable mechanism to govern a country for an extended period of time, especially considering the power it affords the Minister. Usually, citizens have a say with regard to the promulgation of regulations, but Section 27 does not allow for that process to occur. The Committee should question whether this is an appropriate regulation.

It should be recognised that there is a difference between informal and formal consultation.

Mr Swart said that police brutality must be condemned. On the previous day, law officials did not enforce the regulations when political parties had mobilised a significant number of people, whereas they would have enforced the regulations if this occurred at a church service. It was unacceptable for government to continue referring to the service at the Bloemfontein church as a reason for its decision to limit numbers at church gatherings, as this had occurred prior to lockdown.   

It was not correct for the Department to mention that the religious sector is similar to other sectors. Whilst this might be correct in the legal framework, it ignored the fact that the religious sector is the biggest non-governmental organisation (NGO) in the country. He pleaded with the Committee and the Department to take on the concerns and troubles faced by religious authorities and to also convey these concerns to Cabinet.

Mr G Mpumza (ANC) indicated that the presentation had shown that the limitation of rights was in line with the Constitution.

He disputed the claim that the DMA gave the Minister too much power, as Section 57 of the same Act makes provision for the Executive to intervene.

The issue of relief not being provided to religious authorities should be raised with the NCCC.

It was important to allow religious authorities to express their concerns with the Committee and the Department.

Bishop Mosa Sono said that since the Bloemfontein incident, church leaders have followed government’s recommendations and guidelines. It was unfortunate that the Department, through its presentation, had made it seem as if the sector had not tried to comply with the regulations. Government had not found the time to go to churches, to check on their compliance. The Department’s depiction of the sector is part of the reasons why the sector felt that the government did not care about it.

The Chairperson requested that officials should refrain from making derogatory comments on the Zoom Chat Group.

Mr K Ceza (EFF) mentioned that the presentation repeated several things from meetings in April and May 2021.  

Since the advent of the lockdowns, there has been an over-securitisation of the state. Church leaders and worshippers have been victims of police brutality when they have posed no threat to the country. There needs to be consistency in the enforcement of the regulations to ensure that there is fairness. Government should supply the Committee with the evidence it has used to make its decisions.

The Committee should analyse each clause of the DMA to ensure that there is clarity in the regulations.

The Chairperson requested that officials should provide constructive criticism towards officials from the Department and the Members. The purpose of the meeting is to find solutions to the issues mentioned.

The President of the SACC, Bishop Shadrack Moloi, said they have recently had a campaign in Protea Glen where they registered several elder citizens for vaccination.  

There is a difference between consultations and formal meetings. The SACC has been a part of two meetings with government. The first of which occurred prior to the lockdown. During the meeting, it was explained that all stakeholders should work together to flatten the curve. It then attended the meeting scheduled in March 2021, where churches requested that they be allowed to have 50% capacity at their gatherings, but government only increased the number to 250 people indoors.

The SACC has requested that the President schedule meetings from time to time, which he has agreed to. As it is a well-established organisation, government has chosen to consult it, whereas many of the other organisations are still relatively new.

Ms H Mkhaliphi (EFF) agreed that the platform should not be disrespected by the religious officials. Additionally, officials should stick to the agenda and not speak on matters that are not relevant to the proceedings.

Many of the issues still need to be clarified by the Department, such as why the Minister did not refer some of her decisions to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), as stated in Section 59 (4) of the DMA {any regulations made by the Minister in terms of subsection (1) must be referred to the NCOP, for purposes of Section 146 (6) of the Constitution}. She asked why government should persist with regulations which have not been respected by the Minister.

Government should condemn the instances of police brutality faced by religious officials and worshippers.

Pastor Joseph Mahlangu apologised for the behaviour of the other officials in the meeting.

He said that in the Steve Tshwete area, religious organisations have been working with the Local Command Council on Covid-related matters. Both the Mayor and the MEC of Health in Mpumalanga are a part of the Council. This body should be recognised by the Department, as it could facilitate consultations with government that are more inclusive.  

Pastor Percy Makholwa mentioned that the way in which the DMA was enacted was not compliant with the Constitution. Further, the Act is civilian-centric and not police-centric.  

The Minister should insist upon the Minister of Health to consider therapeutic remedies, paired with the vaccination drive, to flatten the curve, instead of relying on lockdowns. There are studies in Peru, Mexico and India that have shown that therapeutic remedies do reduce viral loads.

It should be remembered that the lockdown was a mechanism that the government obtained from the Chinese government, which is known not to be a democracy. As a constitutional democracy, the government should not be utilising mechanisms from countries that are not democracies. He requested that the new regulations should not place too much reliance on the State.

Mr Faizul Kamkher mentioned that the SUCG has sent notices and guidelines to members of the Islamic community, after consultation with the Islamic Medical Organisation. Many mosques were closed voluntarily during the Level three Lockdown earlier in the year.

It was surprising that the calls from a political leader of a large party to not obey lockdown regulations were met with silence. This would not have applied to members of the religious community.

The Deputy Minister (DM) of CoGTA, Mr Obed Bapela, said that the submissions by religious leaders did not include what they as a sector had done to assist in the fight against Covid-19; instead, their focus was solely on their aggrievements. Government recognises that most of the churches have complied with the regulations.

It was true that the representatives did indicate that the sector desires to have capacity increased to 50% of the venue during the meeting in March with the President (who initiated the meeting). However, the President announced that government would only permit 250 indoors and 500 outdoors. Due to the recent increase in infections, the government has had to limit restrictions further, as many of the hospitals are under severe strain. Once the third wave had subsided, the government will consider increasing the number of worshippers allowed at services.

Government does take the input of religious officials into consideration when taking decisions. This is a caring government that listens to the people and does take the issues of citizens forward. Both government and faith-based organisations should work together to save lives and livelihoods. The government does not want to return to level four or five, as many people would lose their jobs.

The Minister has not taken the matters to the NCOP, as she has been using Section 27 (2), which is a reactive measure. Parliament is able to initiate a process to review the Act. Rather than condemning the entire Act, more attention can be placed on the sections that are controversial.

The Department will raise all the matters raised by religious leaders to the DoH, the MoP and the NCCC. It would be beneficial that the Department is accompanied by the DoH and the MoP in the next meeting, to speak on all these issues. The Department will also continue providing the Committee with the scientific evidence government has used to make its decisions.

Mr Swart requested that Department respond to some of the questions through a written response.

The Chairperson agreed with that proposal.

Response of the CRL Commission on matters raised during the Committee’s engagement with CoGTA about the effect of the regulations on the religious sector

The Chairperson of the CRL Commission, Prof Luka Mosoma, briefed the Committee on the Commission’s response to matters raised by religious officials during the engagement held on Tuesday, 15 June 2021. He began by first indicating that the Commission does not view the freedom of religion to be an absolute right and its limitations must be interpreted by a court of law. The Commission believes that the safety protocols instituted by government under the DMA are justifiable, rational, and democratic.

Whilst the Commission is required to protect the rights of the religious community, it is unable to address incidents of police brutality; this is a matter that must be addressed by Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). All other complaints that have been laid with the Commission are dealt directly with the complainant.

The Commission has been proactive in spreading government’s message for citizens and organisations to abide by the health and safety protocols. Immediately after Covid-19 was brought to the attention of South Africans, the Commission sent bulk messages to all community councils that are on its database, to alert and appeal to them to comply with the regulations as outlined in the guidelines.

The Commission appreciated the submissions made by religious leaders and it was willing to continue working with them, to promote and protect the religious rights of communities in the country.

Discussion

Pastor Mengezeleli suggested that government release a public statement that condemns police brutality towards worshippers and also outlines the strategies that will be put in place to ensure that it does not occur again.  

There is a tendency in South Africa to utilise studies that are not based on the African context. More work should be done to source studies conducted on the continent, which refer to the effects of Covid-19.

He asked for the Department to provide an outline of government’s plans to engage with religious leaders in the future. Government should not view the religious sector as a tool for electioneering.

Pastor Nkosi said it was not correct to say that the CFCC’s document (presented in a previous meeting) was an attack against the CRL Commission.

He asked how the Commission has promoted the rights of churches. The report presented gave off the impression that the Commission would not provide assistance to the religious sector. Furthermore, the presentation did not speak to the concerns expressed by religious authorities.

Government should have records of the churches that have not complied with the regulations, and they should be closed down. Religious leaders have been communicating with the Premier in Gauteng, and he informed them that most churches have been compliant.

In November 2017, the CFCC requested that it be registered on the Commission’s database. The Commission informed them that once they were registered, they would receive bulk messages. However, they are yet to receive those messages. He asked whether the CFCC had been registered on the database.

The Chairperson requested that Mr Alex Asikitipi look into case studies on churches in Africa during the pandemic and whether they have contributed to the spread of the virus.  

Bishop Mashashane said that both presentations did not speak to the issues raised by religious authorities.

The Department and the Committee has requested that the religious authorities inform them on what they have done to assist in flattening the curve, but the invitation sent out by the Committee indicated that the authorities would be expected to speak on how the Covid-19 regulations had affected them.

The Chairperson disputed this and said that it would be expected that they would have to elaborate on what they have done to assist government.

Bishop Mashashane said that the religious sector has been undermined, and decisions have been taken without consulting them. The current religious leaders’ government has been consulting do not have a mandate from the sector.

Religious leaders have also not received any financial relief from the government. It seemed that politicians only take them into consideration during the elections.

He requested that the Committee ensure that the regulations are rational, justifiable, and reasonable; and they should not discriminate against the sector.

The Chairperson mentioned that the Department indicated that the religious sector should send a list of delegates that they would like to be a part of the discussions with the President.

Pastor Makholwa said that the Constitution, Regional and International Human Rights laws indicate that rights cannot be limited. He asked that the Committee look into this. The Committee should also seek legal opinion on the blanket limitation of rights, as legal opinionists such as Prof Thuli Madonsela and Prof Pierre De Vos have written extensively on this matter.

The Committee should investigate the Commission’s compliance with its mandate.

Chapter 9 institutions have the responsibility of ensuring that citizens’ rights are upheld. Religious authorities should be able to bring complaints of human rights violations to these institutions. He requested that the Committee investigate where there could be checks and balances, so that institutions like the Commission cannot show indifference towards fulfilling its mandate.

Rev Sello Motsiri-Kharoli mentioned that there has been an increase in the rate of divorce within religious leaders’ households, due to the lack of financial stability. Their plight was not addressed by the Department in its presentation, which gave off the impression that government does not care about church leaders. Government should apologise for their mistreatment of religious leaders.

The Chairperson said that the topic adopted by the Committee referred to Members engaging with religious leaders on the impact of the Covid-19 disaster regulations on the religious sector. This did not only refer to how the sector had suffered, but it also included hearing proposals on what could be done to mitigate the third wave.

Pastor Makholwa indicated that earlier he had recommended that government should utilise therapeutics, together with vaccinations to assist in flattening the curve. The use of Ivermectin has been studied in India, and as a BRICS country, South Africa can easily access the studies to establish its effectiveness. Studies showed that 12mg of Ivermectin reduced death by 12% in Mexico. If this were used in South Africa, it would assist in preventing the use of Lockdowns in the future. Religious leaders would be willing to use churches as vaccination sites and they would also assist with fundraising to purchase Ivermectin.

He requested that the Committee investigate the legality of government’s decision to implement a lockdown in a constitutional democracy.

Mr Swart agreed that the rollout of Ivermectin would significantly assist communities.  

He pleaded with the Commission to assist the religious community with the management of the effects of the pandemic. The Commission should work to understanding the impact of Covid-19 on religious, linguistic, and cultural communities. He asked whether the Commission had brought up the irrationality of having only 100 members in a church, when some of the venues can host 1 000 people.

He commented that the application of the DMA has not been sufficient.

The Committee would have expected the Commission to have released a statement against the police brutality faced by leaders and worshippers or at the least taken the law enforcement agencies to court. He suggested that the Commission consider joining the FOR SA application against the Minister.

Mr Groenewald said it was ironic that the CRL Commission’s presentation stated that the power of prayer did have the ability to bring about change.

Bishop Mufamadi stated that the church does adhere to the regulations.

Prof Mosoma mentioned that not only does the Commission condemn allegations of rights violations, but it also investigates and provides recommendations (in its reports) to Parliament and other organs of the state on what action should be taken. When it issues media statements, it does to educate people on its work.

The Commission has concluded research in collaboration with the National Institute of Sciences in Gauteng, on the impact of Covid-19 on the cultural, linguistic and religious sectors.

The Commission held a meeting where it discussed interfaith collaboration. During that meeting it was established that interfaith collaboration would be a good instrument to bring traditional African faiths and women onboard, who are currently not involved.

Referring to the question on bulk messages, he explained that they were sent to religious leaders to inform them that churches should adhere to Covid-19 protocols, with the aim of preserving the sanctity of human life, which is a priority of the Commission. The Commission would investigate whether the Council has been registered on its database.

There are a number of areas where the Commission should intervene, but it is mindful of going beyond its mandate. For instance, it could not interfere with government’s decision to limit the number of people allowed at gatherings. This, however, did not mean that the Commission ignored the concerns of the religious community, as part of its mandate includes ensuring the protection of their rights. It must be noted that there are certain rights which can be limited, and there are rights that are absolute. The limitation of rights solely lies in the hands of the courts.

The provision of financial relief and Ivermectin are matters that rest solely in the hands of government and not the Commission. The Commission’s only duty is to spread government’s message of adherence to the regulations.

Where resources permit, the Commission does take action. But as a body with only 58 employees, who must serve 58 million people, it has struggled because it is underfunded. Due to the limited budget, the Commission (in collaboration with South African Local Government Association) has even struggled to obtain provincial and regional offices. However, even with the limited budget, the Commission has managed to do a significant amount of work.

He thanked the Committee and the religious leaders for the discussion, saying that it will be important in creating a just community.

Mr Ceza mentioned that the duty of the Committee was to reconcile all matters and assist in finding solutions. He proposed that Members look into the religious leaders’ accusations towards the Commission in greater detail.

He asked four questions: Firstly, what was the extent to which the religious community complied to the regulations? Secondly, had the Commission employed oversight mechanisms to ensure that the religious community was adhering to the regulations? If so, what evidence could be provided to substantiate this? Thirdly, what measures would the Commission take to satisfy religious leaders in the future? Lastly, why had black worshippers and church leaders, in township areas, suffered police brutality?

Certain departments should be invited to the Committee to speak to the allegations made by religious leaders.

Prof Mosoma mentioned that the majority of the faith-based organisations do comply with the regulations.

When addressing incidents of police brutality, the Commission does communicate with the relevant organs of state.

Closing remarks by the Deputy Minister

DM Bapela reiterated that the Minister indicated that religious leaders should forward the names of their chosen candidates to represent them in consultations with the President, to the Committee, and they will be added to the President’s list.  

Not all sectors have received financial relief, but this issue will be taken to the NCCC.

It is Parliament’s duty to decide whether the DMA should be reviewed. If it finds issues in the regulations, it can propose amendments to the act.

Government will be defending the legal action brought against it by FOR SA and other religious organisations.  

Religious leaders form part of the second group of essential workers, in line for vaccination. The first group includes health workers. All recommendations relating to the rollout of the vaccines and Ivermectin will be raised with the DoH, who will then refer them to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). If SAHRPA approves the use of Ivermectin, it will be rolled out by government. In the meantime, the Department requested that religious leaders assist with encouraging the elderly to register for vaccinations.

Government will look into the possibility of increasing capacity at gatherings to 50% (of the venue) once the infection numbers decreased. He encouraged that the religious sector should take responsible actions, like the Jewish community in Gauteng, who decided to close their synagogues in the past week, due to the third wave.  

Government condemns police brutality towards any citizen.

Written responses will be provided to questions that were not answered during the meeting.

Closing Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson was pleased that the Department committed to providing written responses to all unanswered questions.

The Committee, accompanied by the Portfolio Committee on Police, will schedule a meeting with the Minister of Police to address the issue of police brutality.  

This matter (the effects of the regulations on the sector) is of great interest to the Committee, and the Committee will deliberate on the recommendations provided regarding the DMA. During its deliberations, the Committee will probe the complaints relating to sections 59 and 27 of the Act and the legitimacy of the entire Lockdown process. It should be noted that many of the regulations in the Act have been carried on from the former Apartheid regime and are due for amendment. These amendments would assist in making clear the difference between a state of disaster and a NSoD.

As this is an ongoing matter, the Committee will continue monitoring new developments. In the near future, it will schedule another meeting with religious leaders. Only a collective effort will ensure that the curve is flattened, and the Committee encouraged that religious leaders should form part of this effort. The Committee also encouraged all religious leaders to participate in the reviewal of the Act.

She requested that the organisations submit their chosen representatives for consultation with the President, to the Committee, who will then forward the list to the Department.

She thanked the officials for their responses and indicated that the engagement had assisted the Committee going forward. The religious community forms part of the Committee’s constituency, and Members are available to take up their concerns.

The meeting was adjourned.