President Cyril Ramaphosa gave a heartfelt speech to the women of Mzansi pledging R1.6 billion towards the Emergency Response Plan to fight gender-based violence.
He dedicated the last half of his speech to the brutal killings of women across Mzansi since the start of level 3 of the lockdown since the beginning of June.
Booze sales were also reopened at the start of June with many including Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane and Police Minister Bheki Cele calling for another booze ban.“Alcohol does not rape and kill women, men do”, said the President in his speech.
He added, “we will speak for the innocent soul” of Tshegofatso Pule’s unborn child.
“These women are just not statistics”, saying that our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with them. He commended the police for arresting almost all of the alleged perpetrators.
Ramaphosa said 21 women and children have been killed in the past few weeks. He recites the names of women, whose deaths have hit headlines over the past week, who were killed by men.
Ramaphosa adds “with the heaviest heart” that women in the country are facing violence from men.
He says he is “appalled” at a “war” being waged against women and children in the country. He says violence is being “unleashed on the women and children…with a brutality that defies any form of comprehension.”
He said women are being raped and killed by men.
He said the country now has a national plan to combat gender-based violence.
He reminded the country of the GBV hotline available during the lockdown.
The president assured the women and children of SA that the justice system will focus on issues of GBV, and ensured more arrests in these incidents to follow.
He says the court sentences must reflect the seriousness of GBV.
He said the country is facing a coronavirus epidemic and a gender-based violence epidemic. He called on the public to act responsibly and take care of one another.
“The road ahead will be long and difficult, but the task of recovery will also be long and considerable,” he said.
Ramaphosa said it was important to encourage responsible alcohol consumption. He said we need to look at “drastic measures” to curb alcohol abuse.
He says the success of the fight to end GBV will require the support of our whole society. He calls on the public not to be silent over issues of gender-based violence.
Ramaphosa says the introduction of the Level 3 lockdown coincided with an increase in violent crimes.
He said our society needs to introspect on the wider issue of GBV.
He also questioned whether alcohol led to these crimes.
-Daily Sun
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