President Cyril Ramaphosa paying tribute to the late Mozambican President Samora Machel. Photo: Cyril Ramaphosa / Twitter
President Cyril Ramaphosa paying tribute to the late Mozambican President Samora Machel. Photo: Cyril Ramaphosa / Twitter
President Cyril Ramaphosa brought the fire and brimstone to his speech in Senegal this week, when he slammed ‘developed nations’ for hoarding vaccines and punishing South African scientists for identifying the Omicron variant.
Ramaphosa on travel bans
The 69-year-old laid into the Western world, after dozens of countries chose to isolate South Africa with travel bans. However, it was soon discovered that Omicron had seeded itself in most of these nations beforehand.
SA scientists were the first to discover the highly mutated strain, which threatens to act as a roadblock on our way out of the wretched COVID-19 pandemic. He accused nations like the US, UK, and Germany of valuing their lives above African ones, given the unequal share of jabs across the continent.
“Rich countries hoarded vaccines. They ordered more vaccines than their populations required. Vaccine apartheid we say must come to an end, because the health of people around the world is at stake. The lives of people in Africa are just as important as the lives in Europe, in North America, and all over the world.”
Cyril Ramaphosa
These travel bans will devastate the economies of Southern Africa that are dependent on tourism. They go precisely against what was agreed at the G20 in Italy earlier this year when it was said we must open up travel so the tourism sector can recover.
— Cyril Ramaphosa ???????? (@CyrilRamaphosa) December 6, 2021
‘African excellence is being punished’
Ramaphosa’s key message, however, was directed towards the blanket travel bans imposed upon our Republic. He slammed the ‘apartheid-like’ manner of the international movement restrictions, calling for them to end immediately:
“Another disappointment that had been thrown our way is that when South African scientists discovered the new variant Omicron, we immediately took on the responsibility of informing the world. However, what was the result?”
“The travel bans must come to an end. The devastating impact this travel ban will have is well-known. The UN Secretary-General has called it ‘travel apartheid’. The western countries imposed a ban – as it were to punish excellence coming from Africa, preventing our people from travelling”
Cyril Ramaphosa
