THE Kouga Municipality has retracted a notice circulating on social media, banning the hosting of all events in the region due to rising COVID-19 infections.
Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, said the notice had not been intended for the public domain.
“We would like to apologise for the confusion it created,” he said.
“As it stands, the municipality has been advised that it does not have the legal authority to cancel events from taking place locally if organisers adhere to the national COVID-19 regulations.
“Our Municipal Manager will, therefore, be issuing a formal notice retracting the content of the communication that went public last week.”
He said that while the municipality had cancelled its own events, including the Opening of Season and Countdown to the New Year, all other events approved by the Kouga Local Events Committee were legally allowed to continue.
“Since the municipality cannot legally stop approved events that comply with the national regulations, our focus will be on strict law enforcement, especially of the bigger events which have the potential to become super-spreaders,” he said.
“The safety of our residents and visitors is paramount and we will do everything in our power to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infections.”
He said where there were concerns about events, these would be taken up directly with the relevant organisers by the Kouga Local Events Committee.
“We also plead with event organisers to take the COVID-19 risk seriously. Please comply with the regulations and help keep those supporting your events safe.”
