The City of Cape Town takes note of the 14-day lock-down extension announced by President Ramaphosa this evening and we will ensure that all necessary measures are in place so that we can continue providing services during this unprecedented time. We know that our residents will heed the President’s call and continue to stay home to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
As this lockdown is a big ask and comes with serious implications for everyone in our society, there are two requests I want to make to the president.
- I would like to call on the President to please review the list of essential items. The list in its current form is too prohibitive, and for example, does not allow a parent to buy much-needed stationery for their children, or hardware supplies for residents to fix up their homes, or even to replace a broken window. We know our residents can abide by the President’s call, but we need to acknowledge that this list needs some urgent revision to help everyone get through the next three weeks.
- I also want to reiterate a call that we put in writing earlier this week to the President – please urgently remove the BEE conditions placed on businesses who want to apply for financial relief. The financial aid being made available must be open to everyone, and not restricted to BEE-registered businesses only.
We do not yet know the extent of the impact that this lockdown will have on our economy, but we do know that the impact will be severe. I am sure the National Government are factoring this in just as much as they are focusing on limiting the spread of the Coronavirus.
I want to call on our residents to please continue to be diligent, to stay home, only go out for the essentials, and together we will get through this.