The City of Cape Town says it will approach the High Court on an urgent basis for an interdict against the South African Police Service for interfering in the work of a film crew at Camps Bay beach.
Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith says Minister Bheki Cele instructed over 30 police officers to close down a film production at the beach even though they had the necessary permit.
Cele visited various beaches in Cape Town to inspect adherence to lockdown regulations. Here’s an earlier exchange between Smith and Cele.
Smith: I’ll have to agree to have a different interpretation on that. This is a permitted event.
Cele: No, no, no.
Smith: So, the film shoot is permitted it’s gone through our whole process by the film office. So, it is an officially permitted event.
Cele: The City cannot override the national.
Smith: I’m not suggesting we override it. The parameters of those regulations.
Cele: This, this can’t continue. You just shut it down before I shut it down.
‘Reckless behaviour’
Police Minister Bheki Cele has expressed concern over South Africans not adhering to safety regulations to stem the spread of the virus. He says he’s noted with concern reckless behaviour exhibited by some bathers.
Cape Town beaches are permitted to open from 6am until 6pm under the recently revised regulations. Only the beaches along the Garden Route have been closed. Cele says he will use his observations to make his contributions to the National Coronavirus Command Council.
On the first public holiday since the announcement of stricter measures by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Cele led a walkabout, to inspect compliance with COVID–19 regulations on beaches in Cape Town.
Police have been deployed to beaches to ensure compliance:
Government granted extension
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has granted the government an extension on the deadline to justify the closure of beaches along the Garden Route in the Western Cape. The party says it has received a response from the Presidency requesting an extension.
The DA says the government now has until 10 am on Thursday morning.
The DA has threatened legal action over the matter. It says the closures are not in line with scientific advice. They also want similar restrictions to those imposed on KZN beaches.
Beaches on the Garden Route will be closed until the 3rd of January amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
DA leader John Steenhuisen says, “Our intention is to approach the courts for relief to ensure that a very similar dispensation is made for the Western Cape as was granted to KZN, sitting with exactly the same type of figures and outbreaks and hotspots. Yet, they’ve only been closed down on high days and holidays. The fight in this pandemic has got to be balanced between lives and livelihoods.”
Government’s decision to close beaches is irrational – Memory Booysen:
