WC parliament closes in bid to combat coronavirus spread

Western Cape provincial parliament speaker Masizole Mnqasela closed the provincial parliament on Thursday due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Mnqasela said this encouraged social distancing as members of parliament often work closely together.

Speaking at parliament, DA chief whip Daylin Mitchell said going forward “the House will be made up of 28 members representing the various political parties”.

The breakdown will be 15 members from the DA, and one each from the ANC, EFF, GOOD, FF Plus, Al Jama-ah and ACDP.

The arrangement of limiting staff in parliament will last until 18 April, after which the Speaker, together with leaders of the political parties represented, hoped the level of the spread would have reduced to such an extent to allow normal activities to continue.

Parliament staff members had been encouraged to work from home during this time as it was not a shutdown.

The Western Cape had also decided to bring forward the province’s budget to Thursday.

Leaders of the various political parties were encouraged to use this time to work hard by educating their communities about the coronavirus.

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