South Africa police minister wants alcohol ban reinstated

South Africa’s Police Minister Bheki Cele has attributed rising crime in the country to the partial lifting of alcohol sales.

Mr Cele said he hoped the National Coronavirus Command Council would discuss the matter and “do the right thing”.

Alcohol-fuelled violence is a huge problem in South Africa.

The country lifted restrictions on the sale of alcohol on 1 June after coronavirus restrictions were eased to level three.

The sale of alcohol is however only allowed from Monday to Thursday between 09:00 and 17:00 local time.

The police minister had during lockdown attributed a drop in crime to the ban on alcohol sales. At the time Mr Cele said it would be better for the ban to continue.

On Thursday he listed several crime incidents that involved drunk suspects, saying there was a need to reconsider the partial lifting of the ban.

Source: BBC