As the first day of the national lockdown announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 23 March 2020 officially came into effect from midnight, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Ntuli, on the morning of 28 March 2020, inspected law enforcement operations at taxi ranks in the Durban Central Business District, Verulam, KwaMashu and Umlazi’s Mega City where police were stopping vehicles and those that did not comply with the lockdown regulations.
MEC Ntuli commended the province’s law enforcement agencies for ensuring maximum compliance to the Coronavirus lockdown regulations.
“Our law enforcement agencies have been deployed to lockdown entry points into busy Central Business Districts and neighborhoods throughout KwaZulu-Natal. There are multi-disciplinary roadblocks in most parts of the province and our law enforcement agencies have been mandated to arrest anyone that contravenes these regulations. Members of the public need to adhere to the lockdown rules,” said MEC Ntuli.
While unpacking the nation-wide lockdown, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said minibus-taxis, metered taxis and e-hailing vehicles will be allowed to transport essential services workers and those allowed to make the necessary permitted movements.
Transport movements in this regard will be allowed to operate from 05:00 to 09:00 and again from 16:00 to 20:00.
“The lockdown regulations and social distancing guidelines are not meant to punish people but they have been implemented to save lives as we are faced with a deadly pandemic. People must stay at home and comply with the regulations. People must also understand that public transport services have been scaled down so it is not business as usual. Transport provision will only be available during the stipulated times and these regulations are necessary to protect our people from the deadly consequences of this virus. If we all cooperate and fully comply with these regulations, the faster we can overcome this pandemic,” said MEC Ntuli.
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