‘A win for civil society’: Dear SA on extension of deadline for public comment on Covid-19 regulations

Citizen network group Dear SA says it welcomes the three-month extension of the deadline for public comment on the proposed Covid-19 regulations.

The group said the extension is a victory for civil society. It said it had written to the health department requesting a further extension of the deadline due to “the flawed public participation process and contents of the proposed regulatory amendments”.

CEO Gideon Joubert said among the concerns it expressed was the initial 30-day period was not enough and some members of the public said they were dissatisfied with the process, as some of their comments were allegedly deleted. 

“There are serious concerns about how government handled this public participation process, especially the lack of transparency and unreasonable nature of the timeframes. Extending the commentary period is a step in the right direction and we welcome it, but we remain concerned about the implications for future public participation process,” he said.

Health minister Joe Phaahla gazetted the extension late on Wednesday night, shortly before the interim measures were due to expire.

The regulations relate to the surveillance and control of notifiable medical conditions, public measures at points of entry and management of human remains and environmental health. 

The public has until July 5 to comment.

The department said the extension will allow it enough time to extensively consider all comments and representations on the regulations.

It said the extension will allow for the continuation of the process, which means those who submitted their comments before the initial deadline are not required to resubmit them.

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