The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the news that Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has agreed to investigate the City of Ekurhuleni Mayor, Mzwandile Masina, for his outlandish statement at the State of the City Address on Wednesday 18 March 2020.

During his statement, he was clearly heard saying that the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) will be purchasing vaccinations for the Covid-19 virus from Cuba and elsewhere, pending approval from the Medical Control Council (MCC).

On Tuesday, 17 March 2020, a day before Masina made the remarks, the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma issued regulations in terms of Section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act of 2002.

Section 11 (5) (a) and (c) of these regulations prescribe harsh penalties around misinformation and exposure of the virus, including that a person is guilty of an offence and on conviction liable to a fine or the imprisonment of six months if they publish a statement through any medium, including social media intending to deceive any other person about the Covid-19 virus.

Although the DA has written to Dlamini Zuma twice about the Mayor‘s conduct, on 23 March and 17 April respectively, it has not received an acknowledgment of its letters, let alone any indication as to whether she intends pursuing the matter.

The DA is therefore pleased to know that the Public Protector is planning to investigate the matter.

Issued by DA