… and no you don’t need to stock up: the ban on alcohol is not going to be reinsated.
Durban – My fellow South Africans, contrary to what has been said in a voice note doing the rounds on social media, President Cyril Ramaphosa will not be addressing the country and there are no plans to reinstate the ban on alcohol.
Earlier on Tuesday, a voice note was shared in multiple groups on social media where an unnamed man claims the government will ban the sale of alcohol.
According to the recording, bottle stores will be closed on Tuesday night and Ramaphosa is expected to address the country at 8pm.
The person heard on the recording claims that the president will close bottle stores due to the accidents.
“I’m just letting you know the bottle stores will be closing. Will be the last day today. Tonight, 8 o’clock he is talking,” the person claims.
The ban on the sale of alcohol was lifted last week Tuesday, however under strict conditions.
The sale of alcohol is only allowed between Monday and Thursday from 9am to 5pm.
The DA’s trade and industry spokesperson, Natasha Mazzone, said that the voice note was fake.
“People need to treat such voice notes with caution as they cause panic,” he said.
The Presidency had not responded to repeated requests for comment at the time of publishing.
However, there were no statements or alerts of a briefing from the president on any of the Presidency’s social media channels.
Meanwhile, the first weekend of lockdown alert level 2 and unbanning of alcohol sales saw a number of fatal vehicle accidents across the country, including that of three Tshwane Metro Police Department officers.
Pretoria News reported that the officers had been chasing a suspected drunk driver on the N4 between Trans Orange Road and Rebecca Street in Pretoria West.
Metro police spokesperson Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said they had spotted a vehicle driving recklessly and facing oncoming traffic in the CBD.
They tried to stop the vehicle, which was heading in a westerly direction, but the driver continued, prompting the police to call for back-up.
They were joined by another team of three male officers, which was in the area. The back-up vehicle was then involved in a head-on collision with the fleeing vehicle.
All three officers died on the scene. The driver of the vehicle being chased also died, while his female passenger was rushed to hospital.
The Mercury
