Transport minister Fikile He made this statement on Monday during a visit to the grieving families of three Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) officers who died as a result of drunk driving on Sunday.
“There is over access to alcohol. People are out of control in terms of alcohol. We must now put our heads together – when government acts, nobody should say it is unfair. It’s not about corona, this thing has been there,” he said.
It was reported that the accident happened when the police officers were chasing a vehicle of a suspected drunk driver on the N4 between Trans Orange Road and Rebecca Street in Pretoria West.
Unfortunately, the suspect’s vehicle collided with the officers’ vehicle and killed the three officers.
Mbulala lamented further “you can see what the alcohol is doing to our country: it’s a mess. This is over access to alcohol. We drink from 6 pm to 6 am – it’s awful, it must come to an end,” said Mbalula.
The minister suggested that alcohol should be sold at limited times to help reduce alcohol-related incidents.
“Whether there is Covid or not, we must review our laws in terms of alcohol access. It doesn’t work. It has been open-ended over the years and it doesn’t work. It’s not only about level 2 – it doesn’t work all the time,” he added.
