First Covid-19 Ad Hoc Committee meeting
Today Chief Whip Mireille Wenger was elected as chairperson of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Covid-19. This was the first official committee meeting of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament conducted on a virtual platform. The committee consists of 15 Members appointed on a proportional basis.
The committee will hold regular meetings in order to dispatch with its mandate of performing oversight over the work of the provincial executive authority as it responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the work of any provincial department, provincial organ of state or provincial entity involved in activities dealing with the pandemic.
At today’s meeting the Ad Hoc Committee decided on 12 themes around the Covid-19 pandemic that needs the committee’s urgent attention and that will guide future meetings and activities: Health Department responses and preparations; policing, security and police brutality; food security; protection of the vulnerable; disaster management and local government oversight; economic recovery, support and livelihoods; transport; schooling and education; human settlements; citizen surveillance; intergovernmental relations and community cooperation; and government finance and budgets.
“The first sitting of the committee is an important landmark in the Provincial Parliament’s mandate to carry out proper oversight of the work of the Premier and his cabinet during this time. It truly is in the best interests of the people of this province that we scrutinise the efforts of the Western Cape Government in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. We want to ensure that every possible measure is undertaken across the Western Cape to protect communities’ health and wellbeing as we face an uncertain future” says Wenger.
She added “at our next meeting, planned for Wednesday, 22 April, the committee will request a situational report and briefing by Premier Alan Winde, the Western Cape Minister for Health, the Director General of the province and the Head of the Western Cape Department of Health”.
In order to comply with the regulations of the national lockdown and ensure the safety of the Members and officials of the Provincial Parliament, all committee meetings and sittings of the House will, until further notice, be held by online videoconferencing platform.
All virtual committee meetings and sittings of the House will be streamed live on the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s YouTube page. Details of the parliamentary programme can be viewed on the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s online calendar on its website, wcpp.gov.za, from where interested parties will be able to click on the link to the live stream.
Click here to view footag of the first Covid-19 Ad Hoc Committee meeting of 17 April.
