People are encouraged to make use of alternative methods of communication to lodge complaints or to report matters.
THE SOL Plaatje Municipality will, “during this challenging time”, continue to provide basic services to city residents.
“All our services will continue as normal including essential services. We are doubling our efforts to ensure that our water supply remains constant during this period, including ensuring less blockages of sewerage lines and we call on the public to please co-operate,” said municipal spokesperson Sello Matsie yesterday.
“Together with the provincial stakeholders, we will also be looking at the possibility of a quarantine facility. Council will convene to take appropriate decisions based on our disaster management plan.”
Matsie added that they have, however, implemented restrictions at some of their institutions in an attempt to curb the outbreak of the coronavirus.
“As a municipality, we manage a number of public institutions, like libraries, swimming pools, clinics, taxi ranks, community halls and resorts, which are dense areas. In line with the announcement by the president, restrictions will be implemented immediately. The highly-anticipated Diamond and Dorings Festival has also been negatively affected in terms of preventing large crowds.”
Matsie urged residents to make use of alternative payment options to avoid walk-ins at the municipal building.
“Internal precautions have also commenced to ensure our staff members have a safe working environment. The broader public is requested to as much as possible use electronic payment methods and to avoid long lines at our service points.”
Walk-in services at all 19 institutions of the Public Protector countrywide have meanwhile been suspended indefinitely.
The Northern Cape provincial representative of the Public Protector, Mlungisi Khanya, said this was in line with the call from President Cyril Ramaphosa to take action to contain the spread of the virus.
Khanya said people are encouraged to make use of alternative methods of communication to lodge complaints or to report matters.
“For the time being, members of the public wishing to lodge service or conduct failure complaints are encouraged to use alternative means such as e-mail, post, fax and telephone. E-mailed complaints can be sent to [email protected] or call the Kimberley Provincial Office on
060 763 5429 or the Upington office on
054 338 5473473 or call our toll-free line
0800 11 20 40,” said Khanya.
“We have a duty to be accessible to all persons and communities in terms of section 182(4) of the Constitution. One of the ways through which we give effect to this constitutional imperative is availing our services to the public without the need for appointments. Unfortunately the threat posed by Covid-19 is such that we must take these stringent safety measures to protect both our staff and the public we serve from potentially contracting this contagious virus.”
The management of the Diamond Pavilion Mall in Kimberley said yesterday that they have also taken the necessary precautions to curb the spread of the virus.
“We have taken heed of all recommended precautions, and cleaning of the mall’s common areas is taking place more regularly and rigorously, using the prescribed alcohol-based or antibacterial disinfectants. Over and above these added safety measures, we urge shoppers to follow the prescribed hygiene guidelines such as washing your hands thoroughly and regularly, avoiding physical contact such as shaking hands, refraining from touching your face, and coughing/sneezing into your elbow, to name but a few. Notices can also be found in all our ablution facilities in the mall,” said the management.
The provincial leader of the DA, Andrew Louw, said the party has taken a decision to suspend all political meetings in the Province.
“We have also taken a decision to place on hold all branch meetings, constituency AGMs and even our provincial congress, which was initially scheduled to take place on April 18, 2020, until further notice.
“For now, we have one priority only, and that is to stand together with every other South African to curb the further spread of the coronavirus pandemic in our country,” said Louw.
