PRETORIA – Political parties, religious groups, civil society organisations and the general public have reacted fiercely to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that his government will hold consultations to look into the implementation of vaccine mandates in South Africa.
In a televised address to the nation on Sunday evening, Ramaphosa said: “Government has set up a task team that will undertake broad consultations on making vaccination mandatory for specific activities and locations”.
“The task team will report to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Vaccination chaired by the deputy president, which will make recommendations to Cabinet on a fair and sustainable approach to vaccine mandates.”
Speaking to Salaamedia, deputy vice chancellor of research and innovation at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Professor Mosa Moshabela expressed his agreement with the call for vaccines to become mandatory for certain activities in South Africa. He said the interest of public health should trump individual rights.
By law, a policy of mandatory vaccinations cannot be implemented by govt until Parliament has dealt with the matter. President @CyrilRamaphosa should be reminded that he is neither above the law, nor is he above the SA constitution.
— Kenneth Meshoe (@RevMeshoe) November 29, 2021
Julie Alli spoke to Professor Mosa Moshabela on News & Views. Listen to the full discussion here:
