Government will not publish cigarette ban U-turn minutes due to ‘classified’ status

Amid its ongoing battle with cigarette companies, government has revealed that it will neither hand over nor make public the minutes of the National Coronavirus Command Council’s (NCCC) meeting that led to government’s decision to reverse the call to allow for cigarette sales under Level 4 of the lockdown.

According to a News24 report, this is because the contents of that document are “classified”.

Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko explained that this is because the NCCC is “a coordinating structure of Cabinet”.

However, despite the ban on local sales, cigarette companies are now allowed to manufacture and export tobacco products to other countries.

This is an issue that the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) was previously unclear on as they had included it in the list of concerns that they were hauling government to court over.

However, according to News24, government has formally indicated that it will oppose Fita’s court challenge.

“Government’s overriding objective is to save lives by enhancing adherence to the lockdown regulations. We are not making any morality judgments on cigarettes, hence manufacture and export is allowed as part of resumption of economic activity,” Diko told the publication.

Papers were served on Monday to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Normally fratricidal tobacco manufacturers have parked their differences to take on government over what is a business-threatening shutdown. British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) last week sent a letter to Dlamini-Zuma demanding that she lift the ban, failing which it would bring an urgent application before the court.

Fita, of which Batsa is not a member, beat it to the punch. It wants the court to lift the ban, and for government to account to all South Africans on how it came to the decision to impose the ban in the first place.

Fita says the previous Level 5 lockdown did not specifically ban cigarette sales, but that manufacturers and retailers had buckled under threats and contradictory statements from various ministers and law enforcement officials, and had stopped either manufacturing or selling tobacco products.

Ramaphosa announced the lifting of the cigarette ban in April, but this was countermanded by Dlamini-Zuma a week later.

Government is expected to file a response to Fita’s application by close of business on Friday.

Batsa announced on Wednesday that they would be withdrawing their legal threat against the cigarette ban.

READ: Presidency’s shady letter to attorneys who questioned NCC’s constitutionality

(Compiled by Kaunda Selisho)

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