2020 Articles – Page 4 – KZN Legislature

Category: 2020 Articles

KZN LEGISLATURE PUTS MEASURES IN PLACE TO RESPOND TO THE CURRENT LOCKDOWN AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC / NO REST FOR KZN LEGISLATORS DURING NATIONAL LOCKDOWN

The Speaker of the KZN Legislature has called all members to action amidst the continuing pandemic. This is in recognition that the war against the spread of the pandemic can only be won if all structures of government pull their efforts together and play their roles in ensuring that the measures that have been put in place are being effectively and efficiently implemented.

With the restrictions on normal movement, the Legislature has introduced and adopted means for virtual meetings through which the Legislature is holding the Executive to account and through which members of the Public will be able to engage with the Members of the Legislature.

The Committee of Chairpersons on Thursday16 April 2020, held a virtual meeting wherein the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the Chief Whip participated to deal with the current situation arising from the lockdown which has been extended to 30 April 2020 as announced by President Ramaphosa.

The meeting discussed and formulated a comprehensive response given the implications of the crisis on the work of the Legislature. Key amongst these have been the guidelines which calls all Committees to action for them to play the

oversight role over how the Executive is intervening in curtailing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Legislature, through virtual meetings, remains operational during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

This meeting of Chairpersons was preceded by a number of sessions where the Speaker engaged with the Presiding Officers of the Legislature, the Provincial Executive, Party Leaders and representatives of caucuses to put together the Rules allowing for virtual meetings, the systems enabling such, as well as ensuring training of all members and staff of the Legislature.

“We are using modern ICT infrastructure to keep the activities of the Legislature functional. All our meetings are taking place and we shall continue to do our work including overseeing what the government is doing to curb the spread of this pandemic” said the Chairperson of Committees, Hon. Themba Mthembu.

The Legislature Speaker, Hon. Nontembeko Boyce is the principal spokesperson of the institution on matters related to the work of the Legislature in fighting the Coronavirus pandemic. The meeting has urged all the people of South Africa to do the following to curb the spread of the disease:

· Adhere to the Lockdown Regulations all the time;

· Adhere to social distancing;

· Stay at home;

· Protect yourself and other people too.

Chairpersons of various Committees will be on various platforms to convey their messages to the public, in particular the oversight role their respective committees are playing to fight the spread of the Coronavirus and to monitor what the government is doing during the current crisis. Over and above the traditional platforms, digital platforms are being used to communicate the messages and the work of the Legislature during the lockdown.

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Issued by

Hon. Themba Mthembu

Chairperson of Committees

KZN Legislature

Cell: 083 303 6988

WORLD HEALTH DAY

07 April 2020

SPEAKER NONTEMBEKO BOYCE SHOWERS HEALTHCARE WORKERS WITH PRAISE FOR THEIR UNSELFISH FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 AS THE WORLD CELEBRATES THE WORLD HEALTH DAY

In her message on the World Health Day, KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker, Ms Nontembeko Boyce has thanked the healthcare workers for their selfless commitment in the fight against the COVID-19 that has claimed thousands of lives all over the world.

“Today the world observes the World Health Day at a time when the whole world is facing a health crisis caused by the deadly pandemic COVID-19. The efforts put by the healthcare workers in looking after those who have contracted the virus and preventing it from spreading, are immeasurable. Their work does not go unnoticed and let us all rally behind them. We can help our healthcare workers by following health guidelines” said Boyce.

The Speaker also commended the South African government for the manner it has coordinated efforts to contain the spread of the virus, adding that it would have spread faster that it has were it not of the well-coordinated interventions but further calls for provisioning of PPEs and all necessary support by government to all healthcare workers during this difficult time of sacrificing their own beings in order to save South Africa.

“The message that South Africans are getting from the government is clear, logical and it unites people to fight against the common enemy. Our legislature will continue to provide oversight and support to the provincial government as it continues to undertake this important role of protecting our people” said Boyce.

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ISSUED BY THE KWA-ZULU NATAL LEGISLATURE

OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER

Enquiries: Nomusa Phungula 071 851 0085/ 072 294 7237

FINAL LOCKDOWN REGULATIONS

Final lockdown regulations Download

BULLETIN CIRCULAR 1 – COVID-19 COMMUNIQUE

Bulletin Circular1 – COVID-19 Download

THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 IS ON

As South Africa battles with the rapid spread of coronavirus, the members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature took the fight to the street across the province of KwaZulu-Natal to educate people on how best we can prevent being infected by this deadly disease, that has recorded a number of deaths globally. The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency by the United Nations, followed by the launch of COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan to #InvestInHumanity. Members rolled up their sleeves and visited taxi ranks and malls in order to appraise the citizens on the hygienic steps that people need to follow in our fight against the spread of coronavirus. The UThukela team was led by Hon. Sboniso Mtshali, accompanied by the Mayors, ward councillors, religious Leaders, government officials and other interested parties.

Speaking at Nqubeko Community Radio Station Mtshali said “Our nation’s response has been comprehensive and multi-faceted; with the Ministry of Health leading the charge byannouncing policy measures and behavioural protocols, geared towards limiting the spread of this disease, there is no need to panic but we need to strict adhere to all those health precaution measures like sanitizers, gloves and facemask if needs be”.

The people of UThukela welcomed the efforts and applauded this initiative. The Members handed over a number of educational pamplets, pack of soaps and other health promotion materials to each community member. The public was urged to respect the call for a state of emergency by President Cyril Ramaphosa and that during a 21 day Lockdown people must remain in their homes to avoid clashing with law enforcement officers deployed by the President, except for those doing critical and essential services like health workers, police and other strategic sectors like banks and food markets.

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Message from the KZN Legislature on the COVID-19 pandemic

MESSAGE FOR THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

As an oversight institution that promotes public education in its constitutional mandate of law-making, oversight and public involvement, the KZN Legislature is focusing on monitoring the effectiveness of government’s efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic facing our communities. We are encouraging citizens to work with their public representatives through Constituency Offices to ensure that as communities, we make it easy for government agencies to do their work to protect us all as a nation.
The Lockdown protocols announced by the President are to be overseen continuously, but the Legislature on its own may not be adequate without the active support and participation of the citizens. The Legislature therefore invites us all as responsible citizens, to play an oversight role on each other in our communities. To ensure community based oversight, we should report any observed transgressions of these lockdown protocols to authorities.
We also invite communities to send inputs on how best the COVID-19 protocols can be enhanced even through our law-making processes.
We encourage our Members and staff to be responsible during the lockdown period and beyond to ensure the safety of their families. They should always take all the necessary precautions by doing the following:
• Wash your hands regularly
• Practice good personal hygiene
• Do not share food and utensils
• See a Doctor if you are unwell

Hon. Nontembeko Boyce
Speaker: KZN Legislature

MPLs COVID-19 CAMPAIGN WARMLY WELCOMED IN ILEMBE DISTRICT

As part of its response to the outbreak of COVID-19, members of the provincial legislature embarked on an awareness campaign educating people on how to avoid contracting or spreading COVID-19, which is also known as Corona Virus.

The campaign targeted densely populated areas including taxi ranks, hawkers’ markets, private households and shopping centres.

The team which was deployed in the Ilembe district was led by Deputy Chairperson of Committees Honourable Makhosazane Zungu, who was accompanied by Honourable Ricardo Mthembu (Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), and the member of the National Council of Provinces Honourable Makhosi Ntuli and a former of Member of the Provincial Legislature Mr Dhlomo.

The three, Zungu, Ntuli and Mthembu later divided themselves and each respectively led a team to Mandeni, Maphumulo and Ndwedwe municipalities.

They were also joined by councilors from Ilembe district and other local municipalities. The team was warmly welcomed by taxi drivers and commuters. They distributed pamphlets prepared by the provincial department of health.

Honourable Zungu emphasized that people must wash their hands for about twenty seconds, keep social distance where possible, when coughing or sneezing to use elbow and refrain from handshaking.

The delegation also encouraged people to respect the National 21 Days Lockdown as declared by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday. The national lockdown begins tomorrow (Thursday).
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Statement By President Cyril Ramaphosa On Escalation Of Measures To Combat COVID-19 Epidemic

President Statement on Coronavirus : 23 March 2020 Download

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Rolls Out a Constituency Awareness Campaign On COVID-19

The KZN Legislature will embark on a constituency awareness campaign on COVID-19 following the address by His Excellency, the President of the Republic, CM Ramaphosa on the outbreak of the corona virus (COVID-19).

In its Strategic Leadership meeting held on the 17 March 2020, the Legislature resolved that that an outreach programme to KZN Constituencies should be formulated and driven by the Office of the Chief Whip. This will be an awareness programme where Honorable Members will distribute knowledge on the virus with the aim of containing the spread of the virus and makes its contribution to the fight against the pandemic.

“There will be a delegation of MPLs deployed to each District in line with their Respective Party Constituency Deployment, and the message is clear we do not want any further infections and honorable Members will be our Ambassadors as we appeal to communities to follow the instructions of health practitioners, and our government”, said the Speaker of the Legislature Hon Nontembeko Boyce

The constituency awareness programme will take place on 24 March 2020 across all 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal including Ethekwini Metro

Attached is the programme for the day.
Members of the media are invited to attend and cover the campaign.
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ISSUED BY THE KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER

For more information contact:
Nomusa Phungula
Office of the Speaker Media Liaison
071 851 0085/ 072 294 7237

Wesley Canham
Senior Practitioner: Media Liaison and PR
0833 767299

View Programme

KZN TO LAUNCH ‘KNOW YOUR MPL’ CAMPAIGN

The KwaZulu-Natal government prides itself on its ability to champion the interests of its citizens. Through our outreach programmes we have gradually edged closer to our communities (the nucleus of any democratic government) in a bid to listen and act on their concerns.
While some ground has already been covered in this regard, more still needs to be done to ensure that there is continuous and direct contact between Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) and all our communities.

To address this inconsistency, we will in the next few months launch the “Know Your MPL” Campaign which will see us strengthening our partnership with the people we represent.

This campaign will be extended to the length and breadth of our province, as we seek to familiarise our people with their representatives at provincial level.

Our ultimate goal is to make our MPLs the first port of call when our people need to air their views on various issues, whether these relate to policies or general government services.

We are meant to reach our people through Parliament and legislatures in order to advance our national democratic goals. Our people should be mobilised for them to play an active role in shaping their own lives. Hence, we reiterate the fact that we must work together with our people in building an “activist Parliament”.

The “Know Your MPL” Campaign was conceived by communities themselves and is part of our grand plan to improve how our parliamentary constituency offices operate. It’s about meeting the needs and aspirations of those at whose behest we serve.

While parliamentary constituency offices were formed to ensure effectiveness and accountability to the people, there have been challenges.

We must ensure that the Constituency 2 Offices are used to their maximum ability.

They should also provide a platform for the involvement of our people in decision-making, especially in matters affecting them.

During the establishment of the constituency offices, it was made clear that they should serve as a link to government in order to extend programmes of direct contact to empower people to be active participants in building a united, non-racial, non- sexist and democratic South Africa.

We have no doubt that the journey we have begun will receive the full support of all political parties represented in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature as they have consistently offered counsel on how we can improve our interactions with communities.

In the next few months, the office of the Chief Whip will start formal consultations with the relevant structures in the legislature, so that our vision can be refined and implemented.

Ordinary members of the public will also be afforded the opportunity to air their views on what they would like to see their constituency offices doing for them.

With the central government’s bold plans introduced to move our country out of its economic doldrums and improve the delivery of services to our people, we must at all times harness unity and nation-building.

In our journey of ensuring community involvement, let us remember the wise words of Nelson Mandela, who once said: “Since my release, I have become more convinced than ever that the real makers of the future are the ordinary men and women of our country.

“Their participation in every decision about their future is the only guarantee of true democracy and freedom.”

* BM (Super) Zuma is the Chief Whip in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature.