Durban - KZN ANC secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli says while they are not happy with the lack of social distancing in the province, particularly in parts of Durban, people should be grateful that the ANC government is tasked with the battle against Covid-19, and not the apartheid regime.
Ntuli also wants the security forces - the police and the army - to "assert their authority".
Speaking at a press conference in Durban on Wednesday after the party held a virtual meeting of its provincial executive committee (PEC), Ntuli said without prior experience, the party has "comprehensively" dealt with the crisis.
He said South Africans should be grateful that the battle against the Covid-19 coronavirus was being led by an ANC government because if it was before 1994, most of the country's people would have perished.
"Some of us believe that we are fortunate that it has occurred at the time when the ANC is the government of this country. Had it occurred before 1994, I think many of our people would have been wiped out because at that time we had a regime (apartheid) that did not care about the overwhelming majority of our country and we are very fortunate that we have the ANC," he said.
Ntuli said the PEC had resolved to investigate allegations that some party members were using the Covid-19 food parcels to achieve their own agendas. The party will also crack the whip on members who deliberately take photos and share them on social media.
He said they don’t want their members to use the plight of the poor to present themselves as "messiahs".
“We have sent a strong message that says we will no longer tolerate any of our leaders who will be seen deliberately... taking footages and pictures of the food that is being circulated to the downtrodden and the poor of our province,” he said.
Ntuli also defended Premier Sihle Zikalala who is being investigated by the police for allegedly hosting a "mini-rally" on May 1 at Clairwood Hospital.
The investigation came after the DA in KZN pressed charges against him at Montclair police station. Ntuli said they were happy with the explanation given to them by Zikalala during the meeting.
On the issue of the Cuban doctors, Ntuli pleaded with people not to stir anti-Cuban sentiments against them.