Task teams to tackle behaviour in 10 worst hit Buffalo City Metro wards
The Buffalo City Metro has set up task teams in 10 wards to deal with people’s behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move comes after BCM recognised that its “top down” awareness campaigns were not proving effective.
The new direction the municipality is taking involves working with communitybased structures within these wards to educate people about the virus.
The provincial health department identified 10 wards with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the metro. The strategy was unveiled at the Mdantsane rent office on Wednesday.
BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said East London, with 2,293 cases and 71 fatalities, remained the epicentre of the pandemic in the metro.
It was followed by Mdantsane, with 991 cases and 32 fatalities. King William’s Town and Bhisho both recorded 878 cases and 56 deaths.
The affected wards in BCM are 4, 9, 16, 19, 22, 23, 28, 37, 42 and 46.
“We are getting people involved in the fight against the virus. We have seen in the past that our messaging, in terms of governing, has been a top-down approach, and we are of the view that this could be one of the reasons why the behaviour in terms of influence is not changing,” Ngwenya said.
“Consultations are under way with councillors and ward structures. One of the issues it [the task teams] will be dealing with is contact tracing. There will also be behavioural change awareness campaigns and talks by survivors to inspire people to have a change of mindset.
“The mindset against the virus has been very negative but if you look in terms of the recovery rate in BCM, we have recorded over 15,000 Covid-19 cases, of which there have been more than 10,000 recoveries. But people tend to focus on the fact that we have 160 fatalities. That is less than 2% of the mortality rate in terms of the virus,” said Ngwenya.
“People should not get stressed or be fearful and anxious. They must have the right attitude. That can happen if we support each other. Government alone is not going to win the battle against Covid-19. We are hopeful setting up these structures in wards is going to go a long way in influencing that.”
Sizakele Xhamela, of ward 42, welcomed the initiative.
“People have a tendency to not do what they should be doing if there is no one constantly watching over them. The task teams will get training, which they will use to empower their communities. The structures will be a link between the communities and the command council,” said Xhamela.