27 Apr 2020

Senior assistant council secretary for Moshupa Sub-district Council has explained that his organisation was not averse to assisting needy public officers with food during the COVID-19 imposed lockdown.

Mr Sebonego Mosinyi told BOPA in an interview after a command centre meeting in Moshupa that he had never received any formal communication to suggest the assistance was out of bounds to public officers in dire straits.

He said the truth of the matter even before the coronavirus pandemic was that some officers earned virtually nothing after deductions.

While he viewed the habit as unbecoming of someone employed by the public service, he appreciated that before the lockdown the officers had all along learned how to live with the situation and perhaps took up supplementary jobs on the sides to augment their earnings.

He argued that the ‘new normal’ on lockdown left the said officers with no room to maneuver, hence the need for assistance. Mr Mosinyi adjudged that they would assess each case on its merits and help accordingly, adding that they did not want anyone, not even a public officer, to starve to death on lockdown.

Principal economist, Ms Nametso Maikano had earlier informed the command centre meeting that they had received several requests for help from some employees, among them cleaners, drivers and night watch men.

She said they took a deliberate decision to assess the officers and see how best they could assist. At the time of going to press, she had confirmed that some officers had duly been assessed and awaiting assistance. ENDS