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Municipality races against time to house homeless

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Speaker cracks whip

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Speaker of Council Buyelwa Mafaya took charge of the temporary relocation of homeless citizens to designated community halls as the institution could not achieve deadlines set for commencement of the 21 days lockdown on Thursday at midnight.

Accustomed to leading a raucous local legislature, Mafaya issued stringent communication to all Councillors to take charge at temporary accommodation centres.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus infections was made in the interest of the wellbeing of every citizen including the most vulnerable.

“Despite this clear call to action, the deadline set for the municipality came and went. Yet, the process is not completed. I personally helped to get systems in place at Walmer Town Hall, Jarman Hall and the Uitenhage Town Hall on Saturday.
“Today (Sunday), we will be distributing resources to these centres and the overflow from Jarman Hall will be accommodated at the Daku Hall.

“Acting City Manager Noxolo Nqwazi and Chief Operating Officer Mandla George joined me as we personally visited the venues to see how the process is implemented. Three days after the start of the lockdown can never be good enough.

“I will keep on pushing for the finalisation of the accommodation of the homeless as the flouting of the regulations by the municipality must stop now,” Speaker Mafaya said.

The other halls identified to house the homeless are Daku Hall and the NU2 Community Hall in Motherwell.

A dedicated webpage on the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality website http://www.nelsonmandelabay.gov.za/page/covid-19 has been established to share numerous aspects of the Nelson Mandela Bay Disaster Management response to the pandemic including frequently asked questions.

For more information go to www.sacoronavirus.co.za, the national helpline 0800 029 999 or whatsapp 060 012 3456.

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NMB Communications

Media Communications at Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality Communications Department is responsible for communicating pertinent Municipal news from Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch. Municipality Contact Details. See more articles by NMB Communication's.