21 May 2020

As of 1pm on 21 May, the Western Cape has 5677 active cases of Covid-19, with a total of 11 810 confirmed cases and 5677 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 805 (57 recovered)

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 24 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to . We send our condolences to the family and the loved ones of the deceased at this time.

Yesterday, the country was shocked to hear about the death of a two-day old baby who had been born prematurely, as a result of COVID-19 infection. We are saddened by this tragic loss of such a young life and send our deepest sympathies to the family at this time. Western Cape doctors are currently investigating the case, to better understand all the details.

Healthcare system preparedness

The Western Cape Government has been working around the clock to make sure that the healthcare system is prepared at the peak. This includes making available additional immediate care, acute care and critical care capacity in our healthcare system.

1428 additional immediate care beds will be provided by temporary “field hospitals” in the Western Cape;

• This includes the 850 additional beds provided for at the CTICC temporary hospital facility
• 330 beds at the Brackengate temporary hospital facility
• 68 beds at the Khayelitsha Thusong Centre
• 150 beds at the Cape Winelands Sonstraal Hospital
• 30 additional beds at the Tygerberg Hospital

2162 acute beds will be provided by existing public sector capacity including 658 additional beds through expansion.

We are also looking to make 550 critical care (ICU and High Care) beds available at the peak:

• 150 beds that already exist in public health facilities
• 100 additional beds to be added in the public sector (but additional resources are needed for these)
• We will purchase 300 beds from the private sector for patients from the public sector

There are still an additional 300 ICU beds in the private sector available when this is considered.

This means that we have a potential total of 850 ICU beds available in the Western Cape.

I would like to make clear therefore that the Western Cape Government’s health response planning has taken all of the existing private and public sector ICU or high care beds into account, in an integrated single healthcare system response.

As at close of business on Tuesday, the province had 143 patients in ICU or high care in both the public and private sector.

I must also make clear- while we have sufficient capacity at this time to meet our current critical care needs, as we have indicated before, even in the best-case scenario, we will still fall short of ICU beds.

This is why it is so vitally important that we focus on protecting the most vulnerable. About 90 percent of people who contract COVID-19 will not require hospitalisation, but we have seen from our data that those who are most at risk of becoming seriously ill or dying are the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions.

This is why we will be streamlining our testing and contact tracing to focus on high risk groups such as health workers and vulnerable people. We will also be re-purposing our community screening and testing programme to focus on high risk groups.

We have also provided in excess of 86 000 flu vaccines in the private sector thus far, with over 65 000 of these to vulnerable groups and over 25 000 to healthcare workers.

We need the help of every single person. We simply can’t do this alone. You need to keep yourself safe. When you do this, you interrupt the chain of transmission and slow the virus. You can help us save lives by changing your behaviour:

• Stay home as much as possible
• Always wear a clean cloth mask in public
• Always follow the golden rules of good hygiene (a mask alone is not enough)
• Keep your distance from people at all times
• Avoid gatherings of people
• If you are sick, stay home and call the hotline. If you are having difficulty breathing, seek urgent healthcare.

Minister Mbombo hands over masks in Gugulethu:

Today Minister Mbombo handed over masks to the Ikhaya Loxolo Old Age Home in Gugulethu as part of a public-private initiative coordinated by WoW! (Western Cape on Wellness), in partnership with The Health Foundation, Coconut Jazz and other organisations.

Minister Mbombo said: “The purpose of this initiative is to provide free quality masks to children and adults in vulnerable communities in the Western Cape.
Today we handed over masks at Ikhaya Loxolo Old Age Hometo protect elderly who are deemed as vulnerable from getting the virus. I appeal to the corporates and individuals to assist in this initiative by donating masks to enable us to distribute them far and wide”.

Joint statement by the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces on travel protocols:

This morning, a meeting held to discuss solutions to improve management of traveling, transportation of bodies between the Eastern and Western Cape provinces during the covid19 pandemic resolved that four regulatory protocols must be drafted by the two Premiers and submitted to national government for processing and for consideration by the National Command Council.

The virtual meeting, which took place this morning was attended by Premier Lubabalo Mabuyane and myself, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, Police Minister, Bheki Cele, Health MECs, Sindiswa Gomba, Nomafrench Mbombo, Safety and Liaison MECs Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe and Albert Fritz and the Police leadership from both provinces.

The meeting follows a discussion during the Presidential Coordinating Council where the two provinces reported that they were in talks trying to find protocols of cooperation.

The protocols being developed by the two provinces will focus on:

-Joint cooperation on agriculture to specifically manage the movement and employment conditions of seasonal workers between the two provinces.

-Management of funerals with a focus on restricting movement of bodies of COVID-19 related deaths.

– Management of general travelling of people between the two provinces given the easing of restrictions and to manage traveling when schools and universities are opened.

We also discussed collaboration between provincial departments of health and the South African Police Services in both provinces to enforce restrictions around transportation of bodies.

The meeting agreed that the situation affecting these two provinces is not unique to the two and needs national government consideration to better manage travel and the transportation of bodies nationally in a manner that helps to contain the transmission of Covid19.

The two provinces have committed to work together to hold joint operations and cooperate to ensure the proper management of travel, to curb  emerging criminality and ensure the dignified transportation of bodies for funerals of people who die in the Western Cape to be buried in the Eastern Cape.

Premier Mabuyane said: “I must say that on almost every discussion we had during the meeting, we are agreeing. There is a sufficient consensus around such discussions. Some of these discussions are inter-provincial so they need to be done in the context of national regulations, hence the importance of having Ministers participating in that bilateral.”

On the Western Cape’s part, we welcome the opportunity to engage with the Eastern Cape on this matter, as travel between our two provinces by seasonal farm workers returning home or two work, and to attend funerals is common. Regulations and protocols must be designed in such a way that they limit the spread of the virus, but still allow people living and working in the Western Cape who need to return to the Easter Cape to bury loved ones, to grieve appropriately.

20 May 2020

COVID-19: Western Cape Provincial Overview 7

Municipalities in the Western Cape are preparing for a phased re-opening of municipal offices in line with COVID 19 health and safety measures. Community screenings, roadblocks and humanitarian relief driven by municipalities, continue across the province.

The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, Anton Bredell, says municipal risk assessments of workplaces are being done and public buildings and offices are being cleaned and sanitised.

“Outside of the public health situation with regards to Covid-19, the ongoing humanitarian challenge is our biggest challenge. To date 134 515 food parcels and nearly 200 000 daily cooked meals have been provided to beneficiaries in the province by a combination of organisations, private donors, government entities, municipalities and private businesses. These efforts continue non-stop.”

Some of the latest efforts being done in some municipalities across the province:

•  The West Coast District Municipality (WCDM) is assisting the Department of Social Development with the assessment and verification of individuals and households who’ve applied for food parcels. The district municipality will set up a call centre and avail personnel to assist with the backlog of applications which will shorten the waiting period of food parcel deliveries.
• With the objective of ensuring a more hygienic environment WCDM Fire Services continue with sanitizing of public spaces. Twenty-six spaza shops were sanitized in Darling while the disinfection of reception areas of local police stations continue across the district.
• The vast distances between towns in the West Coast district remains a big challenge. To assist the local municipalities with their humanitarian relief projects the Executive Mayor of WCDM, Alderman Harold Cleophas, agreed that the district municipality will transport food parcels to the Matzikama- and Cederberg municipal areas. Travel distance to the furthest drop-off point is more than 200 kilometres.
• Hessequa Municipality: Door-to-door screening took place from 11 – 14 May 2020.  The initial target of approximately 7,500 screenings was exceeded and 12,427 residents were screened during this 4-day period.
• Stellenbosch Municipality is preparing for its first ever virtual Council Meeting, scheduled for 27 May 2020. All councillors are receiving training to help facilitate this process. Sanitizing of public spaces, offices and depots continue to ensure the safety of our staff and residents.
• The City of Cape Town has reprioritised R12 million towards targeted food insecurity programs around the metropole, working with public sector institutions in order to ensure residents in need receives a meal.
• Swartland Municipality: 72 feeding schemes continue to provide meals to the vulnerable in the whole of the Swartland Municipal area.

Bredell has urged all citizens with questions or concerns or who wish to make a contribution in the ongoing struggle to visit the provincial website: www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus or to get in touch with their local municipalities for assistance.

“In addition, if you have flu-like symptoms, and may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19, please contact the provincial hotline on 021 928 4102 for advice on what to do next.”

ENDS.

Media enquiries:

James-Brent Styan

Spokesperson for the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell

Mobile: 084 583 1670 / E-mail:  James-Brent.Styan@westerncape.gov.za

20 May 2020

As of 1pm on 20 May, the Western Cape has 5967 active cases, 11072 total confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection and 5105 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

There are currently 680 unallocated cases and 42 recoveries.

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 28 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 211. We extend our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

Weekly Digital Press Conference with Premier Winde, Minister Nomafrench Mbombo, Director-General Harry Malila, and HOD Dr Keith Cloete

Our weekly press conference was held this afternoon. You can find the full press release here: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/news/our-priority-protect-vulnerable-and-those-high-risk-our-curve-rises

20 May 2020

In my briefing to you two weeks ago, the data showed us that community transmission of Covid-19 had become entrenched, with the virus spreading faster in certain geographic areas, mainly in the City of Cape Town and the Witzenberg region.

This was a new phase that we had entered, where the number of infections would climb at a faster rate, pushing our curve up towards a peak.

This is precisely what will continue to happen in the weeks ahead, and which will happen around the country, a few weeks after us.  That is why we have worked around the clock to make sure that our healthcare system is prepared for the peak, and that everyone who needs medical attention can receive it when they need it. (I released a full briefing of our preparedness yesterday, which can be viewed here).

Last week, I set out our Whole of Government Hotspot Strategy, through which we will use the combined impact of all our government departments and resources, including the efforts of other government spheres, to intervene in a targeted manner in areas of higher transmission. These efforts are designed to slow the spread as much as possible, protect vulnerable people who are at high risk, and ultimately, to save lives.

This is our number one mission.

This week, our Provincial Minister of Health, Nomafrench Mbombo and Head of Health, Dr Keith Cloete, set out how our health response will work in this targeted hotspot strategy. Our focus here is to protect vulnerable people who are at high risk, and to prevent deaths. We cannot stop the virus from spreading, and many people will be infected countrywide. Those at high risk need to be protected.

The current status in the Cape Metro is as follows:

• We are on the upward part of the curve as per the nature of the pandemic and are expecting to see case numbers increase more rapidly, with associated increases in hospitalisation and deaths.
• The transmission has been concentrated around essential services clusters (which have been permitted to operate under all levels of lockdown), care homes and in geographical areas where people who work in these clusters live and this has mostly been in the poorest communities in Cape Town. Our hotspot intervention strategy focusses our combined efforts in these targeted areas.
• Testing/ lab capacity is under severe strain. The National Health Laboratory, which is mandated to perform all public tests, simply doesn’t have the capacity to test enough, and return tests quickly enough, for us to intervene with speed as these numbers grow.
• We are scaling up isolation and quarantine off-site, but this will reach its limit soon as the number of infections rise in line with the ascending curve.
• The number of undetected cases will continue to grow unless major increases in testing capacity is provided.

The status update for the Cape Winelands is as follows:

• The Cape Winelands District is showing evidence of multiple clusters and fast spread, which started in Witzenberg 3 weeks ago, and has moved into Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and Breede Valley, in the past 2 weeks.
• Early clusters have emerged in Overberg (Theewaterskloof and Swellendam), and West Coast (Swartland), during this past week, while there are still many areas with no cases or sporadic cases only.
• Testing/ lab capacity strain is impacting on the ability of these Rural areas to detect cases early and move to aggressive isolation and quarantine interventions.
• Ability to isolate and quarantine off-site will be scaled up rapidly across the Rural areas.
• These areas are projected to have a smaller number of undetected cases, and aggressive testing is still indicated.
• There is still great value of individual case detection and contact tracing.

Given these observations, resource constraints, and the scientific reality that the virus cannot be stopped, our targeted health hotspot response in the Metro will now be focused on the following initiatives:

• Streamline testing and contact tracing activities to focus on high risk groups such as health workers and old age homes.
• Emphasise case management with a view to early detection of deterioration in health status through risk stratification.
• Increased focus on mass communication and building agency for behaviour change – individuals and organisations (across sectors). We need residents to show greater compliance with the rules and recommendations set out by government through lasting behaviour change.
• Re-purpose Community Screening and Testing, and Community Health Workers, towards this goal and strengthen workplace/ institutional agency with a focus on prevention through inter-sectoral action.
• Community Screening and Testing focused on reaching high risk groups such as the elderly and those with co-morbid conditions.
• Continue to focus on the strength of our health system including utilising testing appropriately in the clinical environment.

What does this mean for the hotspot strategy?

• The Health Strategy will be aligned to the risk stratified case management approach (where we target those at greater risk), in areas with established community transmission.
• The identification of appropriate people for admission to designated isolation and quarantine facilities will have to be nuanced, in light of the testing capacity challenges, together with exploration of viable and feasible community-based isolation models (via community initiatives).
• Behaviour change in terms of social distancing, hand and surface hygiene and universal mask wearing, targeted on all areas of gathering in hotspot areas will be the key drive.
• Nuanced, agile, pro-active and adaptive responses are required in the local community spaces (in each of the local areas)
• The rate of increase of transmission per ward and suburb will be carefully tracked over the next 6-8 weeks to assess its effectiveness.

To put it simply, we are going to up our targeted approach. Given the limited testing capacity in South Africa, we are going to utilise a more efficient approach to ensure maximum impact, by community screening and testing in hotspots to quickly identify those who may infected and who are at highest risk.

We will also use our testing to make sure we get results for those patients in hospitals so that we can quickly know whether they have Covid-19. This is important to ensure the correct treatment.

Global data, and our local experience tells us that some 90% of people will not require hospitalisation, only experiencing a mild illness. However, some 10% require hospitalisation, and around 1,8% will die. But remember – and this is important to bear in mind – this also means that 98.2% will survive this.

Of those that die, 96% have an underlying health condition such as HIV, Diabetes, Hypertension and Tuberculosis. We need to protect these people, and those of more advanced age, in the weeks ahead as the virus spreads and we move up the curve, towards the peak.

Indeed, our risk projections for the general population in the Western Cape, based on available data, indicates that those who are older (over 55), and those who have one or more comorbidities are at highest risk. This is where we must focus our attention in the weeks ahead.

This health response will also be combined with interventions by other leading departments in the Western Cape Government, and local government partners such as the City of Cape Town and SAPS, including the following additional responses:

• Economic Response
• Safety Response
• Food security & Humanitarian Response
• Places and Spaces Response
• Transport Response
• Resource management

See Premier Winde’s statement on Hotspot Strategy here for further details.

Behaviour change key for general population to slow the spread

A key component of this plan is the need to effect behavior change, so that people adapt to the “new normal”. Covid-19 is going to be around for some time, and we need to learn to live in ways that slows the spread and protects vulnerable people at highest risk. While many people will only have a mild illness, they could pass it onto someone who could get seriously ill and die.

That is why it is so important to treat every individual, small business and community group as a partner. We must work with them, not against them, together towards a shared objective of slowing the spread and protecting vulnerable and high-risk individuals.

We will therefore also ramp up our communications campaign, using a variety of additional tools, and we will leverage existing community leadership and community networks, available public infrastructure, and faith based organisations to help us land these messages in identified hotspots.

We simply cannot do it alone. Every single person can help us in our effort, by staying home as much as possible, keeping a distance at all times, avoiding gatherings of people wherever it may occur, by always following the golden rules of good hygiene, and by properly wearing a clean cloth mask whenever out in public.

Also, if you get sick, you should stay home because you will end up infecting others if you leave the house. If you however battle to breath you must seek urgent healthcare. You can get advice on our dedicated hotline: 021 928 4102.

Moving to level 3 in conjunction with targeted hotspot plan

We cannot return to “business as usual”, and I will not support that as Premier of this province. We will continue to lead major interventions, as set out above, in hotspot areas to protect vulnerable communities and to save lives. This is our top priority.

However, we cannot look at this response in isolation of the economic devastation and subsequent humanitarian crisis that is already developing. Even if we lift restrictions now, over 200 000 jobs are going to be lost in the Western Cape alone.

If we stay on Alert Level 4, it will be even greater as more and more businesses close and people become unemployed. This will indirectly impact millions of people across our province.

We have no choice but to allow more economic activity over time, in a safe and responsible manner, so that people don’t starve. If we do not do this, lives will be lost in the future.

This does not have to be a zero-sum game. We can care for sick people now and intervene rigorously in areas to slow the spread and save lives, while still allowing for the economy to open over-time so that people can feed themselves and their families.

This is the responsibility of a caring government, and it is a responsibility I take seriously.

MEDIA ALERT BY ALAN WINDE

PREMIER OF THE WESTERN CAPE

Date: 20 May 2020

Release: immediately

Premier Winde to hold digital press conference on WC response to COVID-19

Today, the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, will hold a digital press conference over Microsoft Teams which will outline its targeted hotspot strategy being implemented in the Western Cape.

Premier Winde will be joined by Director General Harry Malila, Provincial Minister of Health Nomafrench Mbombo, Head of Health in the Western Cape, Dr Keith Cloete and Dr Melvin Moodley who is the Director of Strategy at the Department of Health.

Date: Today, 20 May 2020

Time: 14:30 – 16:00

Digital platform: Microsoft Teams

 Please confirm your attendance in by 10am and provide your name, surname, the name of your publication and your email address to be added to Microsoft Teams.  We will provide you with a meeting invite to the briefing, upon your confirmation.

19 May 2020

As of 1pm on 19 May, the Western Cape has 6195 active cases, 10558 total confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection and 4363 recoveries.

Sub Districts Cape Town Metro:

Sub Districts Non-Metro:

Unallocated: 457

Additional data can be accessed on the dashboard at www.westerncape.gov.za/coronavirus

The Western Cape has recorded an additional 18 COVID-19 deaths-bringing the total number of deaths from the virus in the province to 183. We extend our condolences to their loved ones at this time.

The scientific reason for the Lockdown has been to prepare our health system for the peak

Today I provided a detailed updated on our government’s preparations for the Covid-19 pandemic. The scientific reason for the Lockdown, and which has been made clear by experts, was to buy us time to prepare for the peak that will inevitably come. The virus cannot be stopped and will continue to spread throughout the country.

We have been working around the clock to make sure that we are prepared and that every resident that requires healthcare gets it when they need it. This has included:

• R725.5 million has been committed towards Covid-19 related expenditure across the Western Cape Government.
• We have established a dedicated Coronavirus Provincial Hotline for residents to call, that has received a total of 28 500 calls since 16 March 2020. On average it receives 500 calls a day.
• The conversion of the CTICC into a temporary hospital facility that will provide some 850 additional beds at the peak of the pandemic is well underway.
• In total, this facility will include 4 wards – a mixed staffing model of temporary appointments, temporary re-deployment of staff, agency staff (medical -, infectious disease -, emergency – and internal medicine specialists and volunteers will be applied at the facility).
• It is estimated that 200 admissions and 200 discharges will be managed per day during the peak.
• We will open additional temporary hospitals along the R300 in the Metro, in Khayelitsha and in the Cape Winelands that collectively provide an additional 616 beds.
• This is in addition to the Western Cape’s 2 162 (includes 658 through expansion) general care beds and 150 ICU beds that exist in Central and Regional Hospitals across the province.
• We have opened 18 testing and triage centres (12 are already operational) to provide additional support at these facilities.
• We have 3888 Community Health Workers operating across our province, with a further 464 due to start work soon
• We have increased the number of tests from 7 975 on 1 April to 94 275 on 18 May. This is an increase of 1182%. This represents a testing ratio of 1347.27 per 100 000, the highest in the country.
• Using our targeted hotspot approach, we have screened 473 348 people, and referred 12 095 people for testing.
• We launched an online screening tool which has assisted in screening 62 200 people.
• We have recruited 1 645 volunteers to support our healthcare workers when this peak arrives.
• We have ordered R350 487 835.00 million worth of PPE so that our healthcare workers have the protection they need to care for every sick person. We aim to procure R550 million worth of PPE over the course of the pandemic.
• In the public sector we have provided 86 129 flu vaccinations thus far – 65 670 vaccinations to vulnerable groups of people and 20 459 vaccinations to healthcare workers.
• Since the pandemic, we have de-escalated non-essential operations at our healthcare facilities in the Western Cape, which has freed up existing ward capacity in these hospitals (Central and Regional – in relation to the 2 162 general beds and 150 ICU beds) to care for Covid-19.
• We have 432 ventilators and have ordered an additional 100 ventilators to be used at the peak and use our current piped medical gas for high-flow oxygen treatment.
• We have 19 Quarantine and Isolation facilities available offering 2365 beds.
• We are activating an additional 9 facilities which will realise an additional 2292 beds.
• We have launched the Red Dot Transport Service, that through 100 minibus taxis, will transport healthcare workers home when their shift ends at 19h00, given the limitation on the public transport system to operate after 19h00.
• The Red Dot Transport Service will also safely transport those who test positive for Covid-19 to facilities if they cannot isolate safely at home and others to quarantine facilities should they need it.

For more information on what we have done across government departments, visit the following link: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/news/western-cape-has-prepared-its-healthcare-system-peak-and-must-move-level-3-conjunction-targeted

This is precisely why, that given our robust healthcare system preparation and that we will continue to rigorously intervene in hotspots, we must open more of our economy over time. Not allowing this to happen will threaten lives in the future as an unpreceded humanitarian crisis unfolds, and this cannot be ignored by any level of government.

I want to again reiterate that this cannot be done alone. We need the help of every single person in our team effort to slow the spread, and “flatten the curve”. When you keep yourself safe, through practicing good hygiene, keeping your distance, and wearing a mask properly, you help keep vulnerable people who are at higher risk safe too. Your actions can save lives, and we need every person to continue to be our partner in this Covid-19 response.

Media Release

CONTRACTORS ON SITE TO ENSURE SPEEDY HOUSING HANDOVER

19 May 2020

Western Cape Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers says he is pleased to see that progress is being made at the construction sites he has visited so far.

Minister Simmers said: “Concluding another visit to the Forest Village project in Eersteriver, yesterday and visiting the Vlakkeland and Dal Josafat projects in the Drakenstein municipality, which is part of the Cape Winelands District Municipality today, I am convinced that our beneficiaries will not have to wait too long before moving into their homes.

Forest Village will within the next few weeks deliver 267 units, while 64 will be ready for handover in Vlakkeland. Other Districts, such as the Overberg, Garden Route, West Coast, and Cape Metro are also ensuring that minor repairs are speedily concluded.

We remain committed to improving the lives of the most vulnerable, which includes the elderly, disabled, backyard dwellers and those longest on the housing waiting list

The Cape Winelands District Municipality, after the Cape Metro, has the second highest COVID-19 infection rate in the Western Cape, with 456 cases. The majority of their cases being in Witzenberg, with 205 and Drakenstein, with 134. The immediate occupancy of homes will assist in fighting COVID-19, as it will help to maintain social distancing, while strengthening the practice of effective and good hygiene.

As much as Alert level 5 denied our beneficiaries the opportunity to move into their homes sooner, we have a chance to ensure that there are no further and unnecessary delays. I call on beneficiaries to be a little more patient and allow the contractors to apply the finishing touches to their homes.

We have much to look forward to and I cannot wait to share this joyous occasion with our people.

As the Western Cape Government, we remain committed to accelerating human settlement delivery, while promoting social inclusion through the development of integrated, resilient, safe and sustainable human settlements in an open opportunity society.”

Media Enquiries:

Marcellino Martin

Spokesperson for Minister Tertuis Simmers

Marcellino.martin@westerncape.gov.za / 021 483 3397 (o) / 082 721 3362 (m)

or

Mr. Nathan Adriaanse

Director: Communication and Stakeholder Relations

Tel: 021 483-2868 / Cell: 083 263 1720

MEDIA RELEASE BY DAVID MAYNIER

WESTERN CAPE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Date: 19 May 2020

Release: immediately

Note to media – Minister Maynier will be visiting a construction site in Cape Town impacted by Alert Level 4 restrictions this afternoon.
If any media would like to receive video, photos and soundbytes from the site visit, please do contact me.

Opening private sector construction critical to saving over 100 000 jobs

An urgent review of the restrictions on the private sector construction is required if we are to avoid a collapse of the construction sector in South Africa.

And so, today (19 May 2020), I have written a letter to Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, with an attached submission, requesting that under Alert Level 4 restrictions, construction be allowed to expand operations beyond public sector engineering and construction, to include commercial, industrial and private residential construction, together with construction by public entities, and to permit the upscaling of manufacturing of construction supplies beyond 50 per cent sector employment. These proposals incorporate aspects of the draft Alert Level 3 and 2 provisions – all of which we believe can safely be implemented immediately.

It is estimated the impact on the construction sector of the Covid-19 pandemic could cost the Western Cape 111 416 direct and indirect jobs in 2020, and a loss of R14.9 billion in income to people employed in this sector. Opening up private construction as soon as possible, which we believe can safely be done under Alert Level 4, will help prevent these job losses.

The construction sector is a vital component of the South African economy. In 2019, the sector was valued at R172 billion in South Africa and contributed approximately R32 billion to the Western Cape’s total gross value added.

The construction sector was already under pressure pre-Covid 19, having contracted by 3.3% in real terms on 2019. It is estimated that in the Western Cape the sector could experience a further contraction of approximately 41% in 2020, followed by a 10% contraction in 2021 as a result of current restrictions. This translates to a loss of R12.9 billion in 2020 and R3 billion in 2021.

Importantly, the construction sector plays a critical role in attracting fixed capital investment to South Africa that not only supports current economic growth but is also a catalyst for future economic growth and economic potential. By revising the current Alert Level 4 restrictions, we can help to ensure that the construction sector survives and is able to play a role in our economic recovery post COVID-19.

Now more than ever, businesses need to be able to continue to trade safely and responsibly to ensure that we save jobs, livelihoods and the economy during the Covid-19 crisis. The private sector construction presents an opportunity for just that.

Under normal circumstances the sector already complies with very high health and safety standards, and as such, the implementation and regulation of additional measures to ensure safe operations to stop the spread of Covid-19 would not be very difficult for companies.

If the construction sector is able to operate safely for the purposes of public sector engineering and construction, we see no reason why this can’t be extended to the entire construction sector. In doing so, we can significantly impact on the ability for the economy to open in the Western Cape and South Africa, to save jobs and get more people working safely during the Covid-19 crisis.

Notes for media: 

To view the statement online, together with the submission to COGTA, visit: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/news/opening-private-sector-construction-critical-saving-over-100-000-jobs

Note for business: For more info on health guidelines and Covid-19 resources for business visit: https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-how-prevent-and-manage-covid-19-infections

Media Queries:

Francine Higham

Spokesperson for the Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities

(Responsible for the Provincial Treasury and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism)

Cell: 071 087 5150 / Email: francine.higham@westerncape.gov.za