POLITICAL parties have questioned the motivations for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of level one of the lockdown.
Ramaphosa announced that the curfew runs from 12 midnight until 4 am.
Non-essential establishments like bars and restaurants must close by 11 pm to allow staff to go home.
Meetings indoors are now limited to 750 people and outdoors to two thousand people.
The number of people who can attend a funeral increases to 100 – but night vigils are still not allowed.
Alcohol sales are now permitted according to normal trading hours – but not after 11pm.
DA leader John Steenhuisen has criticised Ramaphosa’s decision to keep South Africa in a national state of disaster.
The DA leader says Ramaphosa is disingenuous as the President’s own party breaks COVID-19 rules with their meetings.
“President Ramaphosa and his government appear not to grasp the severity of our jobs crisis that has produced the world’s highest recorded unemployment rate of 44%,” said Steenhuisen.
“Only the most callously uncaring leaders would continue to force job-destroying restrictions on law-abiding people while breaking those rules themselves, as the ANC did yet again in its manifesto launch last week where there was not even an attempt at mask-wearing, social distancing or limiting the gathering to 500. This is hypocrisy of the worst order. All those who broke the law should be prosecuted like all the ordinary people who have been charged for lockdown violations in the past 18 months.”
The EFF’s Sinawo Tambo says the only reason that President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced an increase in the number of people who can gather indoors and outdoors is because the ANC is struggling in its local government election campaigning.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has reacted to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of level one of the lockdown by saying it appears to be an exercise to try and win the hearts and minds of South Africans ahead of the local government elections.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa says a full sitting of Parliament must be called immediately after the elections to discuss the ANC government’s handling of the pandemic.
Holomisa says Parliament must be allowed to perform its oversight role again as soon as possible.
- Additional reporting by SABC
