The African National Congress (ANC) NEC member, Dakota Legoete says it is unfair for South Africa to be punished for being a leading figure in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Legoete was reacting to several countries imposing a travel ban on South Africa and other Southern African countries.

“I don’t think it’s fair to us as a country because we are honest to the world, we are honest to the global players. It would not be correct for them to make abrupt decisions to punish us as a country, to block us as a country. In particular, the United Kingdom – which is our former coloniser. They have the burden of leadership after hating us for over 300 years to appreciate the fact that, they need to help us to grow,” says Legoete.

 

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the move as unjustified.

Travel bans

Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader, John Steenhuisen bemoaned the action of several countries imposing travel bans on some Southern African nations.

Steenhuisen also welcomed the move to remain on alert Level 1 of the lockdown.

“It’s very gratifying to see Government moving away from using lockdowns and liquor bans on beaches etc. I think this is a lot more of a sober response and certainly a lot that we can associate with,” says Steenhuisen.

” I think that it’s the right response and we agree with the President around the irrationality of the travel restrictions that have been implemented against South Africa and we will certainly be using our mayors and our premier to drive the message to particularly these countries, ambassadors and others, that this is the wrong decision and that in fact, South Africa remains a destination like any other in the world that is safe to come to,” he adds.

In the video below, political parties react to President Ramaphosa’s  address: