Home

Political parties share their views ahead of President Ramaphosa’s 8pm address

Reading Time: 3 minutes

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation at 8pm on developments in relation to the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the political parties in Parliament have expressed what they would like the president to tackle when he addresses the nation. This, as the country, is experiencing the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The address follows meetings yesterday of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC), and a special sitting of Cabinet.

The address will be broadcast and streamed on a range of platforms that are accessible to South Africans and international audiences including the SABC News YouTube Channel: 

The meeting comes after Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced that South Africa is in the second wave of the pandemic.

Latest stats

Yesterday,  South Africa recorded  7 999 new coronavirus cases bringing the total to 860 964 cases. Hundred and seventy more COVID-19 deaths were reported bringing the total to 23 276.

Below is the latest coronavirus stats in SA: 

 

Loading...

Loading…

Political parties express adjustment expectations

The Congress of the People (COPE) says they expect Ramaphosa to announce some of the same restrictions that are currently being implemented in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.

The party’s National Spokesperson Dennis Bloem says, “COPE is expecting the president to announce the same restrictions that he has announced in the Nelson Mandela Metro. As we can see that the COVID-19 infections have gone up we want to save lives we are not here to criticise,  it is in our hands and not in the hands of the president.”

Discussion on President Ramaphosa’s address

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) expects curbs on the sale of alcohol and taverns operating times, as well as restrictions on beaches, as many people are expected to descend on coastal towns for the holiday season.

Both the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and Freedom Front Plus (FFPlus) believe a hard lockdown is unnecessary.

“There should be no emotion of hard lockdown. Due consideration needs to be given to the tourism sector and transport sector which have been hardest hit. A targeted approach to where there are flare-ups is needed,” says ACDP MP Wayne Thring.

“The regionals risk approach analysis must be done so that hotspots can be dealt with. It is not necessary to have a complete lockdown if protocols are followed,” says FFPlus leader Pieter Groenewald.

Discussion on the spike in COVID-19 infections in SA with Dr Kgosi Letlape

Author

MOST READ