DA takes Dlamini-Zuma to court over ban on hairdressers and other 'personal care' services
8 June 2020
Note to editors: Please find attached a soundbite by Dean Macpherson MP, the DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry as well as the DA's founding affidavit.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today filed urgent papers in the Western Cape High Court to have the ban and criminalisation of "personal care" services which includes hairdressers, declared invalid and unconstitutional.
This action comes after the DA gave Minister Dlamini-Zuma a deadline of 14:00 on 3 June 2020 to provide us with the reasons and rationale for the ban. The Minister has also failed to meet a self-imposed deadline to publish regulations for the industry as she had promised by 5 June 2020.
The DA therefore has been left with no choice but to take this legal step to save the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people who have suffered at the hands of this government that does not care about them, and could not be bothered to provide any reasons for their hardship.
We also believe that it is simply unjustifiable that almost every other industry is allowed to operate subject to health projects except the personal care industry.
The DA further believes that the Ministers indefinite "ban" violates section 22 of the Constitution which allows citizens the right to practice their trade, occupation or profession freely which may be regulated by law.
In our papers, we have argued that the blanket prohibition on the entire personal care industry is irrational and arbitrary which is prohibited from operating indefinitely, subject to the whims of some unidentified Minister that should provide "directions" for the industry.
This ban therefore cannot be considered constitutional if the "regulated law" undermines a person's right to trade indefinitely.
Closing this industry does not stop people getting haircuts, piercings or tattoos. It stops people keeping a roof over their heads and food on the able. After more than two months of lockdown, any continued prohibition would require the most compelling justification. We believe there simply is none.
The DA looks forward to meeting the Minister in court as soon as possible and will continue fighting for the rights of South Africans to earn a living in way that upholds their constitutional rights.
Issued by Dean Macpherson, DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, 8 June 2020
