During a media briefing by members of the national command council (NCC) in Pretoria on Thursday 16 April, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma issued the Amended State of National Disaster Regulations, focusing on the extension of the lockdown period to 30 April 2020.
Her message was clear, that even if lockdown ends on 30 April, there will need to be a phased return to normality. “We cannot just open the floodgates.” said Dlamini-Zuma
“There will be measures that extend past the end of lockdown – things will not ALL return to normality immediately. It must happen in an orderly and incremental manner.”
She advised that the government would be making weekly announcements regarding which areas will be opened (incrementally) and the conditions which will be applicable.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel, responded to questions
regarding whether supermarkets were allowed to supply cooked foods.
“Takeaways and restaurants were closed during the initial announcement of the lockdown and government communicated to retailers that their hot food sections of their retail stores should be closed. We need to ensure the law as it stands is observed. As we get more information, we will review, but as things stand right now it is very clear what the position is.”
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Some of the other issues addressed which are of interest to the food sector included the following:
LIQUOR: The prohibition of the transport of liquor stays in place - the only alcohol allowed to be transported is for use in the making of sanitizer – liquor for drinking may not be transported or sold.
PORTS: The minister stated that they have been informed that the virus is neutralized on goods that have been at sea for many days, so there is no need for sanitization of these products at the ports. She also indicated that items at ports waiting for export must start to be moved out – so that there is not a congestion at ports when production of exported goods begins to return to normal.
ANNEXURE B: The Disaster Management Act Amendment of 16 April includes an amendment to Annexure B, which now reads as follows:
CIPC Certification Process for Essential Services during Extended Lockdown Period
It is also important to note that companies will need to apply for a NEW CERTIFICATE from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission's (CIPC) BizPortal to perform essential services during the extended lockdown period.
Certificates issued before today will no longer be valid and must be disposed of. To provide time for businesses to adjust to the new requirements, the new certificates will be available to be displayed from start of business on Monday, 20 April 2020.
