Minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele on Thursday assured South Africans that an announcement on the lifting of the national state of disaster will be made soon.

“We have made our clear intentions to do away with the Disaster [Management] Act but we have said that we do not want to leave a vacuum because the biggest thing is that this thing is so unpredictable. You must have means in case it comes at an unexpected time.

“I have no doubt very soon there will be other announcements as far as that is concerned,” said Gungubele.

The minister was pressed to give details on the matter after President Cyril Ramaphosa promised the nation that the national state of disaster would be lifted soon. However, the government has been vague in giving timelines on when a decision will be made on the matter and exactly how far it is with proposed health regulations to replace the Disaster Management Act.

Last week the minister of health Dr Joe Phaahla said the matter would be tabled before the national coronavirus command council meeting this week, however it is not clear whether that took place.

Gungubele would not be drawn on confirming whether Ramaphosa would be addressing the nation on the matter or whether the state of disaster will be extended yet again on March 15.

He said during the meeting on Wednesday, the cabinet “cautioned that the battle is not yet over, and urged all people in SA to remain vigilant and continue protecting themselves to stop the spread of the deadly virus”.

He said the government was pleased that almost 32-million Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered and that more than 42% of the adult population was fully vaccinated. However, he said: “Unvaccinated people still remain unprotected against Covid-19 and pose a health risk to themselves and those around them.

“Vaccination remains the best way to fight Covid-19, and cabinet calls on everyone aged 12 years and above to vaccinate without further delay.”

He reminded South Africans that booster shots were now freely available.

Also on the agenda

Gungubele told journalists the cabinet also welcomed the high-level appointments at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and State Security Agency (SSA).

He announced that the cabinet had approved the National Infrastructure Plan 2050, which provides catalytic projects meant to contribute towards the country’s long-term economic and social developmental goals.

Furthermore, “cabinet approved the publication of the LPG rollout strategy of 2022 in the government gazette for public say. The strategy seeks to contribute towards addressing the country’s energy supply challenges.”

The cabinet also approved the exploration strategy for the mining industry of SA as well as the operationalisation of the Batho Pele revitalisation strategy of 2021.

“Cabinet also approved the amendment of the policy on high-demand spectrum and the policy direction on the licensing of a WOAN (wireless open access network) to be published for public comment. The proposed amendments remove the requirements to licence the WOAN.”

On the taxi relief fund (TRF) to mitigate the affect of the pandemic, Gungubele said the cabinet “approved the extension of the cut-off date for applications for the Covid-19 TRF, from March 31 2022 to March 31 2023”.

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