Cape Town - Future service delivery by municipalities will be greatly impacted by the provision of financial relief to consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Local Government Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell.
“The slashing of budgets and cutting of rates by municipalities across the province has come at great cost to the various municipalities in the province and the department is keeping a very close eye of the financial sustainability of all the province’s municipalities,” Bredell said
He was speaking during a virtual briefing on disaster management and local government oversight at the legislature’s ad hoc committee on Covid-19.
“Most people across the province can’t work and gain an income and accordingly their food security is under threat.
“Our municipalities - aided by many partners from the private sector including NGOs, churches and others - have stepped into the breach and are providing food and shelter to those hardest hit,” said Bredell.
“The provincial government has developed and is implementing special protocols to deal with infected waste including household waste. Effective waste management is a critical component to tackling Covid-19.
“In my view, waste workers are second in line after the health workers in the defence against combating
the pandemic.”
Four committee members, leader of the opposition Cameron Dugmore, Good Party’s Brett Herron, Freedom Front Plus’ Peter Marais and DA’s Derrick America all wanted to know what the department had done about the alleged politicisation of food relief distribution across the province.
Department head Graham Paulse said: “We have developed a protocol that prevents councillors from involvement in the distribution of food parcels.”
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