Lockdown is to control the disease, not to control people – Mandela Foundation
Nelson Mandela Foundation CEO Sello Hatang says people's dignity must be preserved during the enforcement of the lockdown.
Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang speaks to the media after Judge President Phineas Mojapelo delivered judgment in the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s so-called “apartheid flag” case in the Equality Court sitting in the High Court in Johannesburg. 21 August 2019. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has expressed some of its concerns over the implemented regulations during the lockdown, saying many of the national lockdown regulations are paternalistic in nature and lack justification.
The foundation’s CEO Sello Hatang said people’s dignity must be preserved during the enforcement of the lockdown, SABC reported.
He said: “Where does the government get involved in how I can wear a T-shirt? We need to just remember the target, what is the end goal? The end goal is to control the disease, not to control people.”
“And if we remember that we can go and tell clothing stores for example that you can sell the clothes but ensure that there are no crowds inside the shops. You must limit the numbers so that the disease doesn’t spread further.”
On President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, the foundation praised the president for acknowledging the made mistakes government has made in enforcing the lockdown.
The foundation said they welcomed the possible move to Level 3 in parts of the country by the end of May.
(Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele)
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