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NMB Metro must act to ensure integrity of Covid-19 JOC

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Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Nelson Mandela Bay has written to the Acting Mayor, Cllr Thsonono Buyeye, and requested that he issues a directive to protect the physical integrity of the City’s Coronavirus Joint Operations Centre (JOC).

The City has correctly in terms of gazetted Disaster Management Act regulations established a Disaster Management Advisory Forum: COVID-19. This forum is the Metro’s central coordinating body for responding to this National Disaster.

In the first two weeks since the inception of the JOC we have, however, noted there are meetings taking place at the JOC without the necessary physical distancing being observed. Currently, other municipal meetings unrelated to the Covid-19 pandemic is also taking place at the JOC.

Councillors and municipal officials frequent the JOC when returning from communities potentially risking the integrity of the JOC and the operations being directed from there.

By not practising physical distancing, our City’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic is being compromised. Key officials must be allowed to conduct their work without being concerned about facing possible exposure to the Coronavirus. There are no reasons for non-COVID-19 municipal meetings or gatherings to take place.

We have also urged the Acting Mayor to introduce a video conferencing platform to enable officials to join meetings electronically. This approach is being adopted widely by governments throughout South Africa and the rest of the world.

Finally, we would like to convey our sincere appreciation to the City’s essential services workers. They are working tirelessly to keep Nelson Mandela Bay running and to fight the spread of the Coronavirus in the Metro.

Regards

Nqaba Bhanga, Cllr
DA EC Provincial Leader

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