Rustenburg – The ANC has suspended the membership of three of its councillors for allegedly flouting lockdown regulations.
"The suspension of these councillors is a consequence of their failure to adhere to the declaration of a national state of disaster and the subsequent national lockdown by the State President, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa.
"The ANC has directed all its public representatives and members to lead by example and ensure that there is total adherence to the regulations," said Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) co-ordinator Hlomani Chauke.
The suspended councillors are from the Bojanala and Ngaka Modiri Molema regions.
In Bojanala, Tryphosa Botlhokwane, deployed at the Moses Kotane Local Municipality, has been suspended following her alleged violation of the regulations and related acts of misconduct.
The municipality placed her on special leave following allegations made by foreign national traders that she was selling municipality-procured sanitisers.
In the Ngaka Modiri Molema region, Lerato Selebogo and Alfred Nyamane, both deployed in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality, have also been suspended for violating lockdown regulations and committing acts of misconduct as stipulated in the ANC constitution.
"The ANC views the allegations against these councillors in a serious light as they amount to gross abuse of power and ill-discipline of the highest order by its public representatives."
The ANC will investigate these allegations and the outcomes will be made public, Chauke said.
South Africa is on lockdown until the end of April in an attempt to arrest the rapid spread of Covid-19.
The country has so far recorded 2 272 Covid-19 cases and 27 deaths with 410 recoveries.
The novel coronavirus was first recorded in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 from where it spread to the rest of the world.
So far there are more than 1.9 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide with about 120 000 deaths and over 452 000 recoveries.