Malema calls for return of ban on booze throughout lockdown
EFF leader Julius Malema has called for the reinstatement of the ban on alcohol for the whole duration of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Malema was addressing his party’s Youth Day rally on Tuesday.
He said the impact of alcohol consumption on the country’s ailing health system during the Covid-19 epidemic was undesirable.
To this end, imposing a ban on alcohol sales as was the case during level 5 and 4 of the lockdown was the only solution.
The government need look no further than the impact alcohol consumption has had on trauma units of hospitals since the lifting of the ban on June 1.
For instance, he said, Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town reported a spike in the number of people admitted to its trauma unit because of alcohol from June 1, rising from 8 to 20 daily.
As if this was not enough, he went on, Chris Hani Baragwanath doubled admissions after the booze ban was lifted.
“A majority of these patients were there due to alcohol related incidences such as motor vehicle accidents, domestic abuse or interpersonal violence,” said Malema.
“This painful reality is a result of the incompetence, spineless and cowardice of our government led by a coward Ramaphosa who sacrificed the lives of South Africans in the interest of capital.
“We warned Ramaphosa and all his accomplices that the mass deaths we are to witness over the coming weeks are due to his lack of decisiveness at the time the country needed leadership.
“We call for the reinstatement of the ban on alcohol in protection of human life over the desire for profits.”
Malema reiterated that the EFF would hold Ramaphosa and all in his government personally liable over any loss of life due to their decisions on Covid-19.
Once more, the EFF leader said they were still opposed to what they believed was the premature reopening of schools.
This too should be blamed on Ramaphosa and his government, he said.
Said Malema: “In the Western Cape alone, 98 teachers have tested positive for Covid-19 and 1, 800 children who returned to schools have been infected.
“Twenty schools have had to close because of positive Covid-19 cases. The reckless decision to experiment with children will end in tears and we will hold Ramaphosa personally responsible.”