Pretoria - Police in Gauteng are planning to put the brakes on anyone contravening lockdown regulations during the festive season.
Captain Mavela Masondo yesterday reminded the public not to get too excited and forget that the country was still fighting a deadly pandemic.
He said the police would be running operations like O Kae Molao and Safer Festive Season concurrently, to monitor road safety and compliance at entertainment venues.
He said officers had stayed motivated to protect lives, and would be patrolling and visiting venues to ensure that no party was too much fun to neglect Covid-19 regulations.
Operations O Kae Molao and Safer Festive Season would run throughout the festive season, going beyond just monitoring to fighting gender-based violence and reminding the country to help combat the scourge.
Masondo said the acting provincial commissioner, Major-General Patricia Rampota, emphasised the province would employ an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach characterised by public and private partnerships and intelligence-driven operations, with the community at the core.
This included the participation of business and regulatory stakeholders such as the Gauteng Community Policing Board, Gauteng Liquor Board and the Consumer Goods Council, who support the operational plan.
Masondo said people who contravene the laws, including the curfew, would be found and punished for contravening the National Disaster Act.
This includes the owners, managers and supervisors of entertainment establishments who trade after curfew and condone prohibited behaviour, such as overcrowding and lack of physical distancing and sanitisation.
Pretoria News