Afriforum, Solidarity taking government to court over vaccine programme
Solidarity and AfriForum say they will be proceeding with the court case against The Minister of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, over the government’s implementation plan for Covid-19 vaccines.
This comes after the minister did not respond to their letter of demand.
The two organisations say the government's rollout plan comes down to nationalising the distribution and administering of the vaccine.
Connie Mulder, head of the Solidarity Research Institute says the rollout plan is not clear.
“It is also not clear why Drs Dlamini-Zuma and (Health Minister) Mkhize have the power to refuse that anyone other than the state may procure vaccines,” says Mulder.
“It is a shame that the ministers did not see it fit to provide answers about the roll-out of the vaccine. That is why we are now forced to take the case to court".
Mulder says they see no reason why government should centralise the distribution process as time is of the essence and a lot of organisations are needed to procure and distribute the vaccine.
“The government’s non-disclosure of information is further proof why it cannot be trusted with a monopoly regarding the purchasing and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.”
Campaign official for strategy and content at AfriForum, Ernst van Zyl adds government should let go of the idea that it can tackle the vaccination programme on its own.
"A government incapable of demonstrating basic transparency on matters of such a serious nature cannot be given the benefit of the doubt,” adds Van Zyl.
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