Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina has misled the residents of Ekurhuleni about procuring a vaccine for Covid-19 from Cuba.
This is according to Solly Msimanga MPL, DA Gauteng spokesperson for cooperative governance and traditional affairs (COGTA)
“Mayor Masina made an announcement during his State of the City Address that he would use the City’s emergency funding to procure the vaccine Interferon B from Cuba to help fight the coronavirus outbreak,” Msimanga said in a statement on Monday.
“According to Africa Check, mayor Masina was referring to the interferon alpha-2b, a drug used to treat the symptoms of diseases caused by some earlier strains of coronavirus. This drug will not cure Covid-19. This clearly indicates that no proper research was conducted before the mayor made his announcement.
“Mayor Masina was irresponsible in his pronouncement and gave false hope to the residents while the nation is in crisis. Even though health minister Zweli Mkhize subsequently confirmed there was currently no vaccine for Covid-19, Masina has yet to withdraw his statement,” added Msimanga.
“His pronouncement shows that he prefers to play internal ANC politics rather than rally around a fact-based plan that the president has put forward to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
“Furthermore, COGTA minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma also made a determination that the spread of fake news about the coronavirus would be punishable, and the DA will explore if Masina’s announcement constituted a violation of this determination.”
He said the DA would continue to monitor the usage of Ekurhuleni’s emergency funds to ensure that public money is not shipped overseas to procure a vaccine that does not exist.
The mayor’s office did nor respond to Kempton Express’ queries.
