Remove Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from Cabinet/Parliament 

I wholeheartedly accept and appreciate the government's enormous efforts in protecting South African citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their ongoing measures to cautiously allow for more economic activity to resume. The South African government's response to the pandemic can be applauded and is truly a reflection of the aim in protecting the health and safety of all its people.

The restrictions imposed on South Africans, as per the National Disaster Act, however, are having detrimental effects on the livelihood, mental health and normal activities of South Africans. More specifically I am speaking to the ban on Tobacco. Whilst acknowledging that the ban was implemented to protect our citizens as there was speculation that tobacco aggravated the coronavirus, however, to my knowledge, nowhere in the world has this been proven. And, nowhere in the world has a ban been implemented.

My petition speaks to Minister Dlamini-Zuma's rationale in implementing this harsh ban. According to any Administrative Act, which adversely affects the people it is meant to govern, it must be lawful, reasonable, and done procedurally fairly. Where is the proof and explanation of of the aforementioned factors?
The implementation was done in a draconian manner, how is this acceptable in a hard fought for democratic country?
Because there is no conclusive proof that tobacco is detrimental to the coronavirus, how is a ban on tobacco justified?
As a result of the ban, South Africans, who are normal law abiding citizens are having to participate in unlawful activities in order to obtain these products which detrimenally affects their pockets, health as well as their safety.

I understand that under a National Disaster, certain rights may be restricted, but must meet the criteria set out in Section 36 of the constitution. Where is our explanation regarding this?n8n
Therefore, I urge government to lift the ban on the sale of tobacco products.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, under the National Disaster Act enacted during COVID-19 (South Africa), is rewriting and enforcing unconstitutional laws for her own personal gain and empowerment. In doing so she is stripping millions of South African citizens of their basic human rights. Dlamini-Zuma is irrationally misusing her new-found power to wrestle control over her own past struggles. She is seeking revenge through the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that hardships fall on the people of South Africa.

During this time of lockdown crisis, she has deliberately withheld information under false pretences to the country at large. She has refused to release the minutes and details of extraordinary flip-flopping, U-turns and 180-degree decisions declaring all this information to be classified

Whereas the "DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT, NO. 57 OF 2002" clearly states:

7. Contents of national disaster management framework. ” (1) The national disaster management framework must provide a coherent, transparent and inclusive policy on disaster management appropriate for the Republic as a whole.

Dlamini-Zuma has used closed-door meetings and elusive disinformation to enforce the tobacco ban, which was scheduled to be lifted under level 4 restrictions. In doing so, she is widely seen as riding roughshod over our own President Cyril Ramaphosa who initially announced the easing of the tobacco ban on 1 May 2020. In refusing to lift the ban, as promised by Ramaphosa, Dlamini-Zuma instead illogically argued that an undisclosed 2000 people had asked her and our government to keep the ban in place. This unidentified group of a mere 2000 (do any of them even smoke?) directly ignores the pleas and basic human rights of an estimated 11-million tobacco-smoking South African citizens.

We agree that COVID-19 has been treated as a life-threatening pandemic and we support that. However we do not agree that this global battle should become a tool for our government to play dictatorship with their power. During this pandemic the government has opened wide the floodgates to the underworld and black-market entrepreneurs. South Africans are seeing these illicit dealings and wondering where the true source of Dlamini-Zuma's enthusiastic power-mongering decisions originates from. In her current position, Ms Dlamini-Zuma is simply not fit for writing these laws - especially given her widely-publicised and underlying personal issues and vindictive mindset.

Ms Dlamini-Zuma blatantly does not hold each and every South African citizen's interest with any consideration, humanity or respect. Her past actions and recent statements to the media seem both inhumane and unjust.

Please let this petition show that we, as South African citizens, still have the right to fight back against injustice and unjust laws. We will not stand for Dlamini-Zuma's immoral acts of perpetuating inequality. Our voices shall not be silenced or diminished especially in a time such as this, when ALL SOUTH AFRICAN LIVES MATTER!