BEST PRACTICE
balance between saving lives and livelihoods,” notes the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) in its official communication. SAACI goes on to say that the release of the National Norms and Standards by the Department of Tourism is a key piece of legislation that guides self-regulation for the hospitality industry in South Africa. “In addition to all the protocols the industry has developed, such as the Re-opening
Guidelines, this serves as an additional layer of checks and balances when we host events,” highlights SAACI. SAACI is responsible for representing the conferencing industry and, together with figureheads from other associations that are also active within this space, it has lobbied extensively to the government on the safe reopening of events.
ANSWERABLE TO GOVERNMENT
DRAWING
THE LINE As South Africa moves through the fifth wave of Covid-19, it begs the question: are health and safety standards within the events industry in line with the current risks posed by Covid-19, or unnecessarily over the top? Meetings understands more.
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nprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. This has been a common theme during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the health and safety regulations that the organised and live events industry have been subject to throughout the duration of the pandemic
and lockdowns have meant that there is no single standard or norm. “Some may argue that we are overregulating ourselves as we are testing before and during events. Other industries are not and as such we are being singled out for doing the right thing. That is finding the
The suspension of South Africa’s National State of Disaster on 4 April 2022 by President Cyril Ramaphosa has been met with several criticisms, most significantly as the regulations stipulated under the National Health Act (No. 61 of 2003) will now dictate the future of health and safety at events. Following an extension of the public consultation period by Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla, the country awaits a way forward in how it will balance lives and livelihoods. Until then, events in South Africa will be allowed to operate at a maximum of 1 000 people indoors, and 2 000 outdoors, or 50% of the venue’s capacity. While the consensus among organisers and representing associations seems to be that the self-regulation of health and safety protocols is the best way forward for in-person events, there are still several national and local laws that apply. Without these laws in place, there is unfortunately very little recourse should anything go wrong. “It has been a rollercoaster ride… staying motivated and positive, and pressurising the government to recognise that our professional recovery plan will successfully keep people Covid-safe at the events we host,” says Mike Lord, interim chair of the Events Safety Council (ESC). The ESC was established under the Southern African Communications Industries Association (SACIA) and is an international affiliate of the Event Safety Alliance (see sidebar). Previously, the ESC’s focus was on general event safety risks such as erecting structures, crowd control, security and fire. However, with the rapid spread of Covid-19, it has highlighted
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