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In this urgent application the following relief is sought:

“1. That condonation be granted for the non-compliance with the forms, service and time limits provided for in the rules in terms of Rule 6(12), and that the application be dealt with on an urgent basis;

2. That it is declared that, in terms of the amendment to the Regulations issued by the Second Respondent in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, No 57 of 2002 and published in the Government Gazette on 28 May 2020 ( the Alert Level 3 Regulations), all private pre-school institutions offering Early Childhood Development services (Grade R and lower) are entitled to re-open immediately; (my underlining)

3. That the decision of the First Respondent or the Department of Social Development as evinced in the Media Statement of 5 June 2020 to the effect that the Early Childhood Development sector will remain closed under the Alert Level 3 lockdown regulations, be declared to be unconstitutional and unlawful insofar as it applies to private pre-schools offering Early Childhood Development services (Grade R and lower);

4. That the decision referred to paragraph 3 above be set aside to the extent that it applies to private pre-schools offering Early Childhood Development services (Grade R and lower);

5. The First Respondent is ordered to pay the costs of the application such costs to include the costs of two counsel.”