Cape Town - Parliament is seeking answers from the City of Cape Town over the measures it has put in place to enforce social distancing and lockdown regulations in communities experiencing high Covid-19 infection rates.
On Thursday evening deputy mayor Ian Neilson briefed the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on its response plan.
Committee chairperson Faith Muthambi asked Neilson to list the Covid-19 hotspots in the City and in response heard that these included Khayelitsha, Imizamo Yethu, Gugulethu and Klipfontein. Muthambi also wanted confirmation about any privately owned quarantine facilities.
She said: “The City of Cape Town is the epicentre of Covid-19 and we take that very seriously. We will continue to do so until the frontiers of this pandemic are pushed back in this city and elsewhere in the country.”
The City told the committee in its presentation that its Covid-19 response strategy is anchored on three pillars: maintenance of the existing infrastructure; emergency provisions; and additional health measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, especially in the most vulnerable communities such as informal settlements.
The City was unable to provide an answer on the number of the privately-owned testing sites.
Muthambi asked the delegation to answer the question in writing, along with other questions that included one about the City’s implementation of the District Development Model, and another about the City’s contingency plans for the winter weather.
Neilson also talked about the financial state of the City and its ability to collect for services.
“There has been a fall in money collections, but during April and May around 15% to 20% fall of this is a
substantial amount of money for
the City. The big issue has been the amount of debt impairment. We have increased our debt impairment to R244 million.”