LAND Party to implement Lockdown in Zwelihle

The government is not ready for this lockdown. It is business as usual in many parts of the country with minimal law enforcement, SAPS or POPS presence and no SANDF in sight. There is nobody implementing the lockdown and many citizens are not taking this seriously. This puts us all at risk.

Due to the lack of policing members of the LAND Party will be implementing Lockdown in Marikana and Dubai. All shebeens will be closed down and people will be told to stay home and stay safe. Anyone who continues to put the people of Zwelihle’s lives at risk will be told to leave town.

LAND Party urges all citizens to take responsibility for the situation and to stay safe and stay home. Follow the rules set out by the government to combat the Corona Virus. This virus may have been brought here by the white bourgeoisie but that does not mean it can only be contracted by whites. Corona Virus will make any human being sick and any human being can die from it no matter what their race.

The poor and working-class must, in the absence of support from the government, be vigilant and not allow this bourgeois disease to kill us.

In the areas where there is SANDF or SAPS presence, there have been reports of soldiers and police not doing what the President mandated them to do and that is to assist people with kindness and not "skop and donner". Citizens must please report these incidents to their local SAPS immediately.

These are some of the main rules of the Lockdown:

• Stay at home. The message from police minister Bheki Cele and transport minister Fikile Mbalula was a simple one: if you don't have to leave your house, then don't. Only those whose work is classified as an essential service or those going to perform an essential task (buying food or medicine, or seeking medical attention) should leave the house. That means no jogging and no walking the dog. Stay at home.

• Don't pack the car. If you do have to leave the house, there will be very strict rules in place. First, public transport will only be available for eight hours a day, from 5am to 9am and from 4pm to 8pm. If you're using a private vehicle, then there can only be two people in the car: the driver and the passenger. If you do go out, you won't need to wear a mask or gloves — despite what you might have read on WhatsApp.

• Don't drink and smoke. In one of the more divisive rules, Cele said that alcohol would not be on sale for the 21-day lockdown. Neither would cigarettes.

• Keep it real. “Don't lie,” Cele said at the press conference when asked about whether people trying to escape the lockdown would fib their way out of trouble. If you're busted breaking the regulations, he said, a jail term and/or a fine could come your way. And if you are tested and asked for information, and you fail to provide it, you will be named and shamed, said health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.

• Don't run away. Police announced on Wednesday that two people — a businessman in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, and a foreign tourist — were both facing attempted murder charges for disobeying orders to self-quarantine.

• Don't order in. All restaurants, including food delivery services, will not be operational.

• Do get your social grant. There will be public transport restrictions, but you will be able to collect your social grants, the social development department has said.

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