President Cyril Ramaphosa had declared the State of Disaster during his State of the Nation Address in February.The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says government will withdraw the state of disaster on the energy crisis.
A government spokesperson for the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department said the government is meeting with the state attorney this morning to determine the next steps.The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse and trade union Solidarity have both said they were informed by the state attorney that government will be withdrawing the national state of disaster to address the energy crisis.
OUTA launched a legal challenge shortly after the state of disaster was declared in February to have it reviewed as the organisation believed it was"irrational, arbitrary and unlawful". Solidarity similarly launched a legal application to challenge the declaration. Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA's executive director, explained to News24 that the organisation was informed by the state attorney in a letter, that after considering OUTA's legal submissions, government would withdraw the state of disaster. The state attorney also offered to pay the costs in the case, Fick said.