{"id":198094,"date":"2021-08-12T14:31:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T12:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/women-take-the-lead-in-covid-19-fight\/"},"modified":"2021-08-12T14:31:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T12:31:48","slug":"women-take-the-lead-in-covid-19-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/women-take-the-lead-in-covid-19-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Women take the lead in COVID-19 fight"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has paid tribute to two women who have been at the forefront of organisation\u2019s efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

This comes as South Africa commemorates Women\u2019s Month under the theme, \u2018The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Realising Women\u2019s Rights\u2019, in recognition of the 150th birthday anniversary of Mme Charlotte Makgomo Mannya Maxeke.<\/p>\n

Leading the charge at the CDC is a women duo comprising the CDC Unit Head for Human Resources and Chair of the COVID-19 Task Team, Zola Ngoma and CDC Unit Head for Safety, Health, Environment and Quality, and leader of the COVID-19 Vaccination Drive, Viwe Biyana.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur work in earnest started a little over a year ago, following the lockdown announcements and regulations by the South African government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CDC\u2019s COVID-19 Task Team has aptly provided strategic and operational guidance to the organisation and continues during the varying lockdown alert levels to effectively curb the spread of the pandemic within the CDC and ensure that the organisation creates a safe and healthy workplace, and complies with the published government regulations,\u201d Ngoma said.<\/p>\n

With the CDC having a strategic operational footprint in South Africa and on the continent, the organisation has had to cope with and rapidly adjust to the \u2018new normal\u2019, a feat that Ngoma admitted \u201chas not been easy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The CDC has implemented vital operational measures for business continuity.<\/p>\n

Key amongst these has been providing employees with tools of trade to remain productive, engaged and effective, while working from home during the lockdown period.<\/p>\n

The CDC has been conducting most of its business through online systems, holding online meetings with local and international clients, investors and stakeholders alike to increase the investment pipeline and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).<\/p>\n

It has also extended its Health and Safety Wellness Primary Healthcare services to include the testing for the pandemic by a qualified Occupational Medicine Practitioner and registered nurses at the CDC Wellness Centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the CDC\u2019s phase 2 response to the pandemic is the recent certification of the CDC Wellness Centre in Zone 4 of the Coega (SEZ) as a COVID-19 public vaccination site, following approval by the Department of Health (DOH),\u201d Biyana said.<\/p>\n

Working for communities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crucial to the CDC servicing investors is a dual responsibility of ensuring that the organisation positively impacts communities surrounding the SEZ.<\/p>\n

This is in line with the CDC\u2019s ongoing commitment to build healthy communities and to be a leading catalyst for championing socio-economic development, and contributing to the important national effort of defeating the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process of applying to become a vaccination site has been long and arduous. The CDC started on this journey around April 2021, followed by numerous inspections from the DOH [Department of Health] to the Coega Wellness Centre Clinic, culminating in the approval coming into effect on 29 July 2021,\u201d Biyana said.<\/p>\n

The objective of the Coega Wellness Centre Clinic in becoming a vaccination site is to contribute to the country\u2019s enjoined responsibility of reaching a set target of 67% herd immunity and limiting the risk of severe or terminal illness upon contracting the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving to implement the rollout of a vaccination campaign during a pandemic has certainly proven to be one of the most fulfilling and challenging things I\u2019ve had to do in my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cAppreciating the importance of vaccinations, and what they seek to achieve, juxtaposed with being a parent myself and wanting to be there for my family. I have used it as a source of courage, hope and inspiration,\u201d Biyana said.<\/p>\n

Ngoma said she never thought she would be leading a team during a pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am reminded of the number of people and great talent that has succumbed to this virus in our country and worldwide. This has a chilling effect on many of us and personally, it humbles and compels me daily to contribute. It also reminds us of the responsibility we have to both our employer and families, and why we should consistently adhere to the COVID-19 protocols and never let our guard down,\u201d she said. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has paid tribute to two women who have been at the forefront of organisation\u2019s efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes as South Africa commemorates Women\u2019s Month under the theme, \u2018The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Realising Women\u2019s Rights\u2019, in recognition of the 150th birthday anniversary of Mme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-198094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-sanews","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/women-take-the-lead-in-covid-19-fight.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}