The North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management (DCSTM) distributed sanitisers, gloves and disinfectants to taxi operators at the Potchefstroom Taxi Rank on Wednesday morning.
The event was part of the drive that started on Tuesday, 7 April, when the premier, Prof. Job Mokgoro, also handed out personal protective equipment (PPE) to taxi operators in Rustenburg.
“In total, the North West Provincial Government is going to distribute 428 boxes of gloves of 100 each, 8,140 masks and 20 litres of concentrated disinfectant chemicals, which will be over 300 000 litres when diluted,” said Vuyisile Ngesi, the premier’s spokesperson.
The MEC for Public Works and Roads, Oagile Molapisi, briefly addressed the taxi operators, on behalf of the MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari. He discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and stressed the importance of the lockdown, urging people to follow the regulations put in place.
The acting executive mayor of J.B. Marks, Gerald Modise, also encouraged them to take care of themselves during the lockdown period and said there would be mass screening and testing within the municipality.
Mokonyama Mathabatha, the administrator of the DCSTM, reminded the operators of the taxi regulations during the lockdown, especially their daily operational hours. In the end, the officials demonstrated how to effectively disinfect the taxis.
