‘Sober up’ – Cele condemns looting of liquor stores
Police Minister Bheki Cele has given a tongue-lashing to South Africans after the looting of several liquor stores across the country.
The Western Cape is the latest to be hit by a string of incidents.
Cele visited the province on Saturday where he vowed to crack down on illegal alcohol sales and looters.
“Alcohol and the problem of alcohol cannot be the centre of complaints when we are facing such a serious problem, such catastrophic issues that the world is facing,” Cele said.
“Sober up, we are facing serious matters here.”
#CoronavirusinSA Death toll rises to 25
The latest statistics where release by the Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize, on Saturday night. The minister also revealed that the number of people who tested positive has increased to 2028, while 75 053 tests have been conducted. "The deceased patient is a 61-year-old male from the Western Cape", said Mkhize.
Cele urged residents to be more tolerant of the lockdown regulations, warning that violation of regulations put the country at risk of a further disaster.
Drawing on the global context, Cele said: “In the United States, the figures we got this morning is that in 24 hours, 2 000 people died … that figure can visit us here … it is a matter of life and death … the economy itself is suffering … people are losing jobs, there will be liquidations … alcohol cannot be the centre of complaint when we are dealing with such a serious problem.
“We believe if we do things correctly situation might end and change in the month end and go back to the normal.”
On Thursday President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the national lockdown by a further two weeks.
The lockdown is now expected to last until the end of April.