Administrator welcomes the deployment of Pravin Gordhan
20 JULY 2020
Tshwane Head Administrator Mpho Nawa has welcomed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s deployment in the City to lead the district efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that the fight against the Corona virus will be district-based and would focus on hotspot areas. The City of Tshwane has been identified as one of the COVID-19 hostpot areas.
Tshwane has developed and implemented a Ward-based COVID-19 outreach screening and testing campaign which is targeted at hostpot areas. The campaign is rolled out every Friday and is currently focused on shopping centres and malls. Thousands of people have so far been screened and tested for COVID-19 in a concerted bid to isolate those that are positive from the negative ones with a view to flattening the proverbial curve.
Nawa said the vast experience of Gordhan who has served government in various capacities over many years would not only help the City in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but would also assist in other aspects where there are weaknesses.
“Minister Gordhan has had a stellar career in the public service, firstly as the most enterprising and successful governer of the South African Reserve Service (Sars) under whose leadership revenue collection was at its maximum and as the Minister of both Finance and Cogta. We will draw inspiration, lessons and mentorship in terms of good governance and financial prudence from his wealth of expereince as a dedicated and commited civil servant,” Nawa saidThe team of Administrators and senior management of the City have already had two meetings with Minister Gordhan and are excited to tap into his expertise to put the City in the right footing.
“We are going to have many future engagements with Minister Gordhan and we are motivated and inspired from the last two meetings we’ve had with him. He has provided cogent guidance on what needs to be done to contain the rapid spread of the Corona virus. Of all the metros in Gauteng, Tshwane has the least number of infections due to the efforts we have put in place, and we would like to appeal to our communities to observe the lockdown regulations and stop having house parties and exceeding the number of mourners permitted at funerals.
“We can defeat this killer virus if we behave accordingly. Let’s continue to wear face cloth masks, sanitise, wash our hands with soap and water and observe physical distancing of one meter and above to contain the spread of the virus,” Nawa said.
Issued by Communication, Marketing and Events Department.