Safety and Security Directorate mourns the loss of staff members to COVID-19

08 January 2021

Statement by the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith

The Safety and Security Directorate has lost five staff members to COVID-19 in the past week.

This brings to nine the number of active staff members who have succumbed to the virus since the pandemic started in March 2020.

They include:

Cape Town Traffic Service: Paul Oliver and Anthony Standaar
Law Enforcement: Tania van de Vent
Disaster Risk Management: Elisha Xolile Lupondo
Fire and Rescue Service: Makosandile Mbhokwe and Nolitha Okolo
Metro Police: Charlene Moses

We are also saddened by the passing of a recently retired Law Enforcement staff member, Frederick Snyders.

With their family’s permission, the City has decided to disclose the identities of these staff members, while the names of two others have been withheld out of respect for those families who could not be reached.

Their passing is a devastating blow to their families, as well as their colleagues and friends in the City and we extend our sincerest condolences to all who knew them.

The Safety and Security Directorate has been hard-hit by COVID-19 due to the nature of the essential work that staff members are required to perform on the frontline.

Since March, 797 staff members have tested positive, with 643 recoveries to date.

At present, 136 individuals are infected, seven of whom are in hospital.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the staff members who are fighting the virus, but also to those who continue to show up, day after day, in spite of the ever-present and heightened risk of exposure.

The City has invested heavily in the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment and the establishment of workplace protocols to help mitigate the risk to our staff members.

Times have been tough, not just for those who have been infected, but also colleagues who have had to go into quarantine where exposure has been confirmed, those who have lost loved ones and those for whom work has been a stop-start affair due to facility closures.

But through the turmoil, staff have continued to deliver services to our residents and for this we commend them.

The Directorate will provide as much support as possible to the relatives and colleagues of the five staff members who have passed in the last week.

Due to the current restrictions on funeral attendance and memorial services, we will pay a fitting tribute to our fallen staff members at a time when the worst of the pandemic is over and regulations allow.

End

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office