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The African Transformation Movement (ATM) will press charges against Transportation Minister Fikile Mbalula for allegedly violating the blocking rules in terms of Regulation Gazette No. 11062 on March 25, 2020, where he addressed a massive crowd in the Noord taxi rank in Johannesburg.
LOOK: Mbalula called an April fool while talking to hundreds of people at the taxi rank
On April 1, Mbalula addressed the hundreds of travelers at a time when regulations prohibited the gathering of crowds of more than 100, which was then revised to no more than 50.
April 1, 2020 – Hundreds of police officers, taxi and river owners gathered at MTN / Noord Taxi Rank to listen to the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, announce changes in the hours of operation of the taxis and in the number of passengers | Image: screenshot, YouTube / SABC Digital News
ATM spokesperson Gauteng and NEC member Nyaniso Jeku said: “Image-backed media reports estimated the crowd to be over 300 people. Crowds of people stood shoulder to shoulder, violating physical estrangement and putting on risk their lives while listening to the minister.
“Even more worrying was that the minister himself, during a considerable part of his speech, along with some of the government officials, also set a bad example by violating the physical estrangement in sight of millions of viewers.
“The regulations do not exempt Covid-19’s communication, so despite the content of the briefing, the law was violated.”
The party called on both President Cyril Ramaphosa and Police Minister Bheki Cele to act decisively on the violation.
“If churches are not allowed to assemble their members, there is no reason for the minister to violate the law in the way that he did.” The law should apply equally to all South African citizens without fear or favor, and we ask Minister Cele to also give his urgent attention to this matter. “
Mbalula was mentioned as an April fool on social media earlier this month, as viewers denounced the lack of social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment by hundreds of viewers.
After his meeting with the National Taxi Council of South Africa, during which they threatened a nationwide strike over lockdown regulations, Mbalula spoke to taxi drivers and owners about changes in hours of operation and numbers. passenger in an effort to avoid strike action.
Speaking at the Noord taxi rank in the Johannesburg financial district, he said his department had conducted an assessment of the previous measures and consulted with the taxi industry on ways to improve them.
He was later criticized on social media for the volume of people in the crowd he was targeting.
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