If the government is of the view that persistent socio-economic deprivation now qualifies as a disaster, then the appropriate legal and constitutional course of action
is to:
Introduce an amendment to the Disaster Management Act through a
transparent, consultative parliamentary process;
Develop a standalone legal regime to regulate responses to chronic socio-economic emergencies; and
Ensure that any expanded executive authority is subject to constitutional safeguards, judicial oversight, and clear limitations in both scope and time.
Absent such reform, the current declaration is ultra vires, made in excess of the powers conferred by the enabling statute, and therefore unlawful and susceptible to judicial review.
