There's been some confusion lately as to who can operate when it comes to essential services. Some food delivery services and restaurants fall into a grey area, leaving many questions remaining.
Just this week popular Cape Town restaurant The Lawns was forced to close after a backlash on social media. The result was the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) revoking its certificate.
Now local chef and foodie Luyanda Mafanya seems to have met the same fate. On Wednesday, Mafanya had her Essential Service Certificate revoked by the CIPC after she took to Twitter to post pictures of the cooked food she was going to deliver to her clients.
Twitter user who goes by @lilracing_ called out Mafanya by saying she must stay at home but that quickly escalated as Mafanya told lilracing that she was allowed to deliver as she was offering "essential services", but the CIPC didn't think so. In fact, they terminated her certificate right away.
A screenshot of Mafanya's tweet before she deleted it.
How lilracing_ responded to Mafanya.
How CIPC handled the matter.
Mafanya then apologised on her Twitter page saying she must have misunderstood the category. She wrote: "This is a whole mess. I clearly misunderstood the category, I was wrong, I accept the consequences that come with it. I will stay home and continue to create the recipe content that’s all." (sic).
For a list of requirements for an essential services certificate, visit the SA Government website.
* For the latest on the Covid-19 outbreak, visit IOL's #Coronavirus trend page.