President Cyril Ramaphosa says while there has been much public comment on government’s decision to extend the prohibition on the sale of tobacco products into level 4 it is wrong to suggest that there are Ministers or a President doing and saying whatever they want on the matter.
Ramaphosa was addressing the nation in his weekly newsletter on Monday.
Last week Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said during a National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) briefing that government would not open the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco related products in Level 4 due to health reasons after Ramaphosa earlier announced cigarettes would be on sale from 1 May.
Ramaphosa says the decision to prohibit cigarette sales was bound to be controversial.
“After careful consideration and discussion, the NCCC reconsidered its position on tobacco. As a result, the regulations ratified by Cabinet and announced by Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on 29 April extended the prohibition. This was a collective decision and the public statements by both myself and the Minister were done on behalf of, and mandated by, the collective I lead.”
Ramaphosa says every regulation government has put in place has been carefully considered.
“Along the way there has been consultation with medical experts, various constituencies and different industries. We have been guided by international bodies and the experience of other countries.”
He says while there are differing views on some of the decisions government has taken – and in some instances, these have polarised opinion it is making every effort to act in a way that advances the rights to life and dignity of all our people.
Ramaphosa says listening South Africans and their concerns during the lockdown period has been one of the distinguishing features of how they have managed this the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.
Faizel Patel
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