DA: Coronavirus a test for govt to safeguard human rights

South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day today, amidst the implementation of strict travel and social restrictions as part of the national disaster declared to try and limit the spreading of the coronavirus.

DA interim leader, John Steenhuisen, says the pandemic poses one of the greatest tests ever for government and will ultimately determine how far the nation is willing to stretch their rights.

“In our Bill of Rights, in Section 27 of the Constitution, it is written that everyone has the right to have access to health care services, and that no one may be refused emergency medical treatment. Under normal circumstances, upholding these rights has proven hard enough. But the coming months will place our public and private healthcare services under the kind of strain that no one could have foreseen or properly planned for,” says Steenhuisen.

He adds that his engagements with President Cyril Ramaphosa and fellow parliamentarians have given him hope that there is a genuine desire to stand united as we focus on our common enemy: the spread of the coronavirus.

Steenhuisen says calls for South Africans to be patient when seeking help from public and private health care facilities.

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Steenhuisen now calls on government to also act pro-actively in protecting the embattled economy and the livelihoods of thousands of business owners and their employees.

This as fears mount over the ability of especially small businesses to survive the coming months

“We need a comprehensive Economic Support Package to see our country through this time, and this package must put the people of South Africa front and centre. We simply cannot go ahead with spending precious money on failed SOEs while this pandemic crushes our economy and plunges millions of South Africans even further into hardship. We have to cancel the R16 billion bailout of SAA and immediately redirect this money to the Economic Support Package,” adds Steenhuisen.

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