Vinpro court case continues
THE Vinpro case against the government’s liquor sales restrictions in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) is expected to hear the end of submissions from lawyers after the hearing was adjourned yesterday.
The matter is being heard in the Western Cape High Court by a full bench comprising Judges Mokgoatji Dolamo, Hayley Slingers and Derek Wille.
The premier, the Health MEC and the Community Safety MEC are listed as the third, fourth and fifth respondents.
Completing his submission carried over from Monday, the province’s advocate, David Borgström SC, argued that the province found itself in the unusual position of being a respondent in the case while supporting many of Vinpro’s arguments as well as the relief sought.
The province argued it had a keen interest in the issues raised and what it saw as the erosion of its constitutionally granted powers during the period of the national emergency.
Since the start of the pandemic, Premier Alan Winde has argued for a differentiated approach to the lockdowns, saying such an approach would help save jobs in the Western Cape, thus limiting the economic impact on sectors such as agriculture.
One of Vinpro’s main arguments is that the provinces, not national government, should decide whether or not to impose liquor sales restrictions and should do so with reference to provincial circumstances, including the need to preserve capacity in trauma units in hospitals in the province.
Government advocate Karrisha Pillay argued that the job of the Presidential Co-ordinating Council composed of the president, deputy president, key ministers and premiers among others, played a pivotal role in the government’s response to the DMA with inputs from, among others, the health minister.
Pillay said the DMA’s principal purpose was to provide an integrated and co-ordinated disaster management policy that focused on preventing or reducing the risk of disasters, mitigating their severity and providing an effective response and post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation.