As South Africa battles the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the country will remain on Adjusted Alert Level 3 Lockdown. Addressing the nation on Monday, the 11^th of January 2021, the President said it was necessary for the country to remain on Level 3 until the peak of new infections passes and the country was certain that the rate of transmission has fallen.

You can download the amended regulations as gazetted by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma on the link below.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the nation on Thursday, 03 December 2020, on South Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The address follows a special sitting of Cabinet that considered recommendations of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) meeting.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the nation on Monday,14 December 2020, on developments in relation to the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The address followed meetings held on Sunday, 13 December 2020, of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), and a special sitting of Cabinet.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, designated under section 3 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), having declared a national state of disaster, published in Government Gazette No. 43096 of 15 March 2020, and extended by Government Notices Nos. 646 of 5 June 2020, 765 of 13 July 2020, 889 of 15 August 2020 and 995 of 14 September 2020, 1090 of 14 October 2020 and 1225 of 14 November 2020 and 1341 of 11 December 2020 hereby in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, after consultation with the relevant Cabinet members, make Regulations in the Schedule.

The 2020 year is coming to an end and with it, Christmas and New Year are fast approaching. This period of the year is known for joyous celebrations, festivities and generous giving of gifts. It has for ages distinguished itself from other periods of the year. The year 2020 has been the most challenging year South Africans have ever experienced with the announcement of a national lockdown by the President due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, school closures, disruptions and the loss of loved ones. The coronavirus has disrupted normalcy and subsequently placed South Africans and the world at large in unknown territory. However, more than anything the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the inequalities that exist for millions of South Africans with families struggling to survive.

Christmas can be a time of healing and renewed strength. It speaks to the hope we share as a people and represents a season of brotherhood and generosity to our fellow men. I, therefore, call on all of our residents across the District to practice compassion during this time by reaching out to those who are vulnerable, underprivileged and the elderly in our society. One act of random kindness will certainly help us to bring about social cohesion.

The holidays are a wonderful time for loved ones to come together and reflect on the past year, and it is a time to celebrate the coming year with hope and enthusiasm. This festive season will be unlike any other we have lived through before as we have to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This holiday season will require us to give up some pleasures in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones against the virus.

Our success in overcoming the coronavirus will ultimately be determined by the changes we make in our behaviour. This will entail that we observe social distancing even more carefully, wear face masks whenever we leave home, wash our hands regularly and avoid contact with other people.

Christmas is sadly also a season of increased deaths on the roads as impatience leads to speeding and consumption of alcohol leads to reckless driving. Please refrain from drunk driving and speeding and obey the rules as they are there to protect you.

May this festive season be a reminder of all the blessings in our lives and may we never lose sight of the wonder of God’s mercy. We praise the Lord that He protected us all in 2020, and we also pray that He will surrender us unharmed in 2021.

On behalf of the Councilors and the staff of the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, we wish you a Christmas that will give you satisfaction, happiness and love, and we wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year!

President Cyril Ramaphosa has addressed the nation on Monday, 28 December 2020, on developments in relation to the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The address followed meetings held on Sunday, 27 December 2020, of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and special sessions of the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) and Cabinet.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, designated under section 3 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), having declared a national state of disaster, published in Government Gazette No. 43096 of 15 March 2020, and extended by Government Notices Nos. 646 of 5 June 2020, 765 of 13 July 2020, 889 of 15 August 2020 and 995 of 14 September 2020, 1090 of 14 October 2020 and 1225 of 14 November 2020 and 1341 of 11 December 2020 hereby in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, after consultation with the relevant Cabinet members, make Regulations in the Schedule.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, designated under section 3 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), having declared a national state of disaster, published in Government Gazette No. 43096 of 15 March 2020, and extended by Government Notices Nos. 646 of 5 June 2020, 765 of 13 July 2020, 889 of 15 August 2020 and 995 of 14 September 2020 and 1090 of 14 October 2020 hereby in terms of under section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, after consultation with the relevant Cabinet members, make Regulations in the Schedule.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, designated under section 3 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), having declared a national state of disaster, published in Government Gazette No. 43096 of 15 March 2020, and extended by Government Notices Nos. 646 of 5 June 2020, 765 of 13 July 2020, 889 of 15 August 2020 and 995 of 14 September 2020, 1090 of 14 October 2020 and 1225 of 14 November 2020 hereby in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, after consultation with the relevant Cabinet members, make Regulations in the Schedule.

The men of the ZF Mgcawu District took to the streets in a peaceful march to pledge their support in the fight against Gender-based violence and femicide against women and children. The crisis of gender-based violence is a national concern affecting all members of society and it is for this reason that this men’s march consisted of religious leaders, leaders from government, community members and male personnel from the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality led by its Executive Mayor, Councillor Paulus Mgcera.

This event took place while South Africa is in the process of commemorating the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” from the 26^th November to the 10^th December 2020. The scourge of violence and brutal killings of women and children in South Africa has led to the President declaring a period of mourning in remembrance of those who have lost their lives at the hands of violent men and through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The men marched to the Upington Magistrate’s Court to hand over its message of commitment to the Senior Prosecutor, Mr A Damarah. The Executive Mayor, Councillor Paulus Mgcera spoke on behalf of all men in the ZFM District in pledging their support to fight against gender-based violence.

“As the ZFM District, we want a society where women, children and other vulnerable groups can live freely, without fear of either being abused or killed. We reconfirm our commitment to fight vigorously against the scourge of gender-based violence,” he said. The Executive Mayor emphasised that government must avail more resources in this regard, that the church must come out strong on GBV matters and that communities must expose perpetrators and not turn a blind eye to abusive behaviour.

As part of the two-day program, the Department of Social Development in collaboration with the Deputy Minister of Tourism’s Office held a session at the Augrabies Waterfalls with boys between the ages of 9 and 13 who live in the Augrabies area but never had an opportunity to go to the Augrabies Waterfalls. The purpose of this session was to educate young boys on the importance of becoming responsible men who protect women and children, set good examples in their homes and create healthy and safe environments for women and children.

The ZF Mgcawu District Municipality would like to thank all the role-players who contributed to the success of these programs.