Chairman, Michael Hartmann of SAARDA keeps us updated
Michael Hartman. Image credit: saarda.co.za
With lock-down level 4 now in full swing we are all wondering and hoping in anticipation for a relief in restrictions. With certain businesses being able to commence with operations, our industry is still hampered with restrictions.
1 Re-opening of the Deeds Offices
In a media statement issued on 7 May the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announced that the department is putting the necessary health measures in place to ensure that clients and departmental officials are not exposed to any health risk. This will be finalized soon, and an announcement will be made in due course.
2 Construction
Residential construction is listed in level 2 of the Risk Adjustment Strategy for the moment. This obviously affects our industry greatly. We also submitted our request and comments on this issue to COGTA, motivating our plea to commence construction as soon as possible.
We also joined forces with Cosmopolitan who appointed a legal team to draft a submission for the construction industry to commence operations under level 4. The submission was delivered in person by the legal team to COGTA and could motivate our case as well. Cosmopolitan’s legal team received an invitation to come and present the construction to the National Command Council. We are hopeful that this will be received positively and will focus on the safety measures to mitigate risk to prevent spreading the virus. We will keep you posted on the status.
We added our voice to the COVID-19 Rapid Response Task Team, consisting of virtually all bodies involved in the construction industry. We have made steady progress and have been engaging with various departments, including the office of the President. We also received numerous requests for submissions by several departments including Labour for a proposed set of safety regulations going forward. I will post the proposal on the SAARDA website once finalized.
Keep safe and adhere to safety measures.
