According to the statement, Fritz wrote to Minister Cele on 23 April requesting that accredited NHW members be permitted to operate under the lockdown.

Fritz says that the minister has failed to respond to his request.

According to Fritz, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) will review the Disaster Management Regulations saying that this will unpack the conditions under which NHWs may or may not operate under alert level 3.

“It is essential that our neighbourhood watches continue their essential work in our communities,” Fritz said.

The MEC says accredited NHWs can assist by promoting physical distancing in supermarket (and other shop) queues, clinics and hospitals, and at transport interchanges including taxi ranks. He also says that the presence of NHWs, particularly in communities with low police visibility, will serve to prevent crime.

"As the department of community safety, we will continue to work with the City of Cape Town and other municipalities to appoint accredited NHW members as Disaster Risk Management (DRM) volunteers," Fritz said.

The MEC reiterated that the province's NHWs are regulated by Section 6 of the WCCSA, which deals with the accreditation and support of neighbourhood watches.

Section 6 requires that all current and future members of a NHW undergo a screening process to ascertain whether they have any previous convictions before they can be considered for accreditation.

As South Africa moves from alert level 4 in the national lockdown to alert level 3, millions of South Africans will return to work.

The president has also announced in his speech on Sunday that South Africans will be allowed to exercise at any time during the day.

African News Agency (ANA)