Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to, once again, extend the National State of Disaster to next month, and Western Cape Premier Alan Winde is growing weary.
Winde wants to know when will the National State of Disaster end so things can go to normal. Last week, the premier wrote to Ramaphosa to request a consultation with provinces ahead of any extension of the National State of Disaster, now expected this Friday.
“I also requested transparency on the national government’s proposed roadmap to end this disaster. We cannot have this declaration forever, and the public, and especially the economy, need certainty about what the government’s plans are to end it and by when.”
He said he is yet to hear back from the Presidency on this meeting and is increasingly concerned that the national government has not yet applied its mind to what such a roadmap will look like.
“It is of great importance that we use this time now to have these discussions and put in place the systems that will enable the future management of the virus, without having to rely on what is an extreme piece of legislation that has very severe consequences on our future recovery and job creation.”
“It is only reasonable to expect that such a plan to terminate the declaration exists, based on expert advice, with clear markers, including vaccination coverage, and the empowerment of provincial and local governments to respond in future.”
“The Western Cape announced earlier that it has a five-point plan, which we believe is the framework needed to save both lives and jobs in the Western Cape and the country.
“We must end the National State of Disaster to grow the economy and create jobs. We must enable Provincial and Local Government responses through an established traffic-light warning system, based on pre-determined measures of health platform capacity,” said the premier.
“My office will be following up on my correspondence with the Presidency, which we believe is urgent and important, given the expected extension of the declaration on Friday.”
Last night, South Africans saw the return of soccer fans to the stadium for the Bafana Bafana match against Ethiopia. According to lockdown regulations, amended and gazetted by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma on Monday, attendance at stadiums is limited to 750 people or less in indoor venues and 2,000 at outdoor venues.
Only 2000 vaccinated fans were allowed to watch Bafana beat Ethiopia in the second leg of the World Cup qualifiers at FNB Stadium. Tickets were free but only vaccinated people could get their hands on them. Many questioned why such a big stadium was only opened to a few when it has a capacity of more than 90 000.
Weekend Argus