By Laura Peterjohn
MAIN PHOTO: South African Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is in trouble after this photo was posted on Instagram by her former colleague Mduduzi Manana, showing her apparently enjoying a social call at his home in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown. SOURCE @MDUMANANA on Instagram
As police crack down on South Africans, in some cases using violence to enforce the strict lockdown guidelines imposed by the government, at least one top government official has shown little regard for the measures in place.
South African Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, is to be summoned to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa after being exposed for breaking the government issued lockdown.
Ndabeni-Abrahams was pictured in an Instagram post uploaded by disgraced former deputy minister Mduduzi Manana, which showed the pair enjoying a luncheon with several other people. In the post Manana thanks Ndabeni-Abrahams for the work she has been doing to keep the country functioning during the nationwide lockdown.
Manana has since attempted to explain away the gathering, issuing a public statement to say that Ndabeni-Abrahams had been visiting his home on official business and was therefore not braking any of the lockdown rules. He aopologized for creating the impression it was a “social lunch”.
However his statement has been meet with heavy criticism and there have been several calls for Ramaphosa to take action against his minister for this direct breach of government orders.
Ramaphosa issued a statement saying that he had seen the picture and had called for a meeting with Ndabeni-Abrahams to further discuss the optics of the situation.
“We are trying to install a clear message to all our people that social distance is important. Let us stay at home. Let us not be going around with visitations. And if you have to, it must be work-related,” he said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams is not the only government official who has been caught breaking guidelines imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, has been forced to step down after she visited her second home – twice – contradicting the guidance she herself had issued to the public, advising them to stay at home, reported The Guardian.
In New Zealand, Health Minister David Clark is in trouble after he took his family on two outings – once to the beach, and once to a mountain trail ride – breaching his country’s social distancing guidelines.
The BBC reported that Clark offered his resignation, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declined due to the ongoing crisis. She has, however, demoted him and withdrawn his seniority in her cabinet.
