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- Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winde criticized Health Minister Zweli Mkhize‘s statement that the province had a 42% increase in new Covid-19 cases.
- He said Mkhize’s comment was “reckless” as the province had a 13% increase.
- Winde has implored people to comply with the Covid-19 protocols.
Western Cape Prime Minister Alan Winde has said it was reckless on the part of Health Minister Zweli Mkhize to say that the province had seen a 42% increase in new Covid-19 cases.
He added that the province had worked “very hard” to handle the pandemic.
“Well, frankly, the minister was reckless,” Winde said Friday.
Mkhize is being treated for Covid-19, which the prime minister also contracted earlier in the pandemic.
In response to his special speech to the legislature on Thursday, Winde added that the province had been praised for its strategy to contain the pandemic, had reduced numbers, and its hotspot strategy had been emulated in other provinces.
He said that Mkhize’s information was inaccurate because, according to information from the province, it was a 13% increase.
Winde added that this should not be taken lightly and urged continued adherence to hygiene protocols and social distancing.
“I don’t know where he prepared it.”
This as the province is pushing for the travel “red list” to be removed ahead of its usually busy holiday season.
On the list, which was released on October 19, are some of the Western Cape’s largest tourism source markets, such as Germany and the United Kingdom.
On Thursday, Winde said the province had shown courage in dealing with the pandemic and had set up facilities quickly, even though the national government had not paid for them as expected.
He warned of looming budget cuts in the provinces in light of the economic recession of the blockade, as the country faces a possible debt crisis.
Winde urged the national government to carefully consider whether SAA should be bailed out or whether the money would be better spent elsewhere to alleviate poverty and unemployment caused by the shutdown.
He warned that the Western Cape government could be forced to borrow money for the first time, given looming budget cuts.
READ: ‘We don’t need chicken or meat in heaven’ – Winde appeals to Ramaphosa, Mboweni on SAA R10bn rescue
On Friday, opposition parties popped Winde’s Thursday bubble when he spoke of the Covid-19 crisis as a “full moon” moment in which the seemingly impossible was done to flatten the coronavirus curve.
The opposition MPLs accused him of ignoring the poor, saying he was trying to protect the economy rather than the people.
Winde was accused of using the Covid-19 hotspot strategy to force the poor to live in crowded conditions to create “herd immunity.”
He was also accused of undermining the national government by trying to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes, and questioned why millions were spent preparing facilities used for a short period and renting beds in private hospitals.
They also questioned how the homeless were treated at the Strandfontein emergency shelter, and why concerns about criminal safety in the province were apparently ignored.
However, the DA MPL defended him and lampooned the opposition, in particular the ANC.
Responding to a comment by Peter Marais of the FF Plus MPL, Winde said he supported a federal system of government, but not independence as the Cape Party advocates.
He added that where the provinces had shown that they could manage their own budgets adequately, they should be given more autonomy, particularly with regard to managing the rail network and policing.
Winde’s response to the opposition MPLs was that they had not listened to his speech with his plans for poverty alleviation and economic growth.
He said that despite his requests for suggestions on how to improve the province, few were received from the opposition.
