The assassination of rapper AKA and President Cyril Ramaphosa's state of the nation address (Sona) were on the agenda at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Briefing media in Cape Town on Thursday, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele said the cabinet welcomed Ramaphosa’s seventh Sona and expressed condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the recent floods in several parts of the country.
“Cabinet expressed condolences to the family and friends of hip-hop artist Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, and celebrity chef Tebello Motsoane, who were recently gunned down in Durban.
“Cabinet also expressed sympathy to the family and friends of anti-crime activist Ayob Mungalee, who was shot dead in Eldorado Park in Johannesburg. He was the national director of People Seeking Justice Action Group, a movement which mobilised community members to take a stand against gangsterism and drug dealing.
“Cabinet expressed condolences to the families and friends of those killed in recent mass shootings in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. These heinous and cold-blooded attacks highlight the prevalence of gun violence and its impact on communities.”
Cabinet expresses concern over gun violence after AKA’s killing, sends condolences
Presidency reporter
Image: GCIS
The assassination of rapper AKA and President Cyril Ramaphosa's state of the nation address (Sona) were on the agenda at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Briefing media in Cape Town on Thursday, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele said the cabinet welcomed Ramaphosa’s seventh Sona and expressed condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the recent floods in several parts of the country.
“Cabinet expressed condolences to the family and friends of hip-hop artist Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, and celebrity chef Tebello Motsoane, who were recently gunned down in Durban.
“Cabinet also expressed sympathy to the family and friends of anti-crime activist Ayob Mungalee, who was shot dead in Eldorado Park in Johannesburg. He was the national director of People Seeking Justice Action Group, a movement which mobilised community members to take a stand against gangsterism and drug dealing.
“Cabinet expressed condolences to the families and friends of those killed in recent mass shootings in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. These heinous and cold-blooded attacks highlight the prevalence of gun violence and its impact on communities.”
Cabinet also expressed concern about road safety and increasing violence in schools.
On the appointment of the SABC board, Gungubele said: “We will leave that to the president and hope at the right time he will take a decision.”
Gungubele said Ramaphosa would make an announcement on a cabinet reshuffle when he was ready to do so.
It has been reported that the president is likely to restructure his cabinet after the budget speech on February 22.
Turning to the load-shedding national state of disaster, he said: “Our immediate concern is we must maintain load-shedding stages at a low level.”
Gungubele said he was confident the state of disaster would help end load-shedding.
“It’s going to assist in making sure we are allowed to execute speedily more onerous processes, yet within the law, and that is why the president has also called [for] the real time audit by the office of the auditor-general.”
Regarding the appointment of the electricity minister, Gungubele said Ramaphosa will make the announcement “when he is ready”.
He conceded the government had failed to protect citizens from crime. “We accept we are failing on crime and we are not doing well. But we have reinforced the National Prosecuting Authority, the justice system, and the police.”
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