The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) has suspended all outstanding public consultations on draft electoral wards following the declaration of Coronavirus (COVID-19) as a national disaster.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the MDB said this is in line with President Ramaphosa’s pronouncement of the virus as a national disaster.
Making the announcement on Sunday, the President said: “The current circumstances require extra-ordinary measures to curb the spread of the virus” and that “gatherings of more than 100 people will be prohibited, where small gatherings are unavoidable, organisers will need to put in place stringent measures of prevention and control”.
The MDB said the cancellations were precautionary and a mitigation measure for the public consultation process in an effort to curb the spread of corona virus.
“The MDB suspends all public consultation meetings scheduled from 18 March 2020 to 09 April 2020 with immediate effect,” read the statement.
The MDB said consultations are expected to resume from the 14 April 2020.
“The above might be changed depending on the directives issued by the National Command Council as established by the President, in this regard the MDB will communicate accordingly,” the MDB said.
Regardless of the situation, read the statement, members of the public and stakeholders are encouraged to continue to submit written submissions until 30 April 2020.
Board Chairperson Thabo Manyoni said the well-being and protection of communities during this period is of outmost importance.
“It is our responsibility to take all necessary measures as a collective to curb the spread of the virus hence we are suspending all outstanding public sessions. We further encourage communities to learn more about the virus in order to protect themselves,” said Manyoni.
These ongoing measures will be reviewed on a regular basis depending on the state of affairs.
The ward submission forms are available on the MDB website (www.demarcation.org.za) and from municipalities. Submissions should be sent to registry@demarcation.org.za.
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