Speaker of the National Assembly speaks against the travel restrictions imposed on SA
28 November 2021
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has spoken out strongly against the travel restrictions imposed on certain African countries, including South Africa, by some countries in light of the identification of the new Covid-19 variant.
The Omicron variant was identified by South African scientists early this week. The identification has created panic around the world, resulting in inbound and outbound travel bans against the identified countries.
Ms Mapisa-Nqakula was speaking last night evening at the 7th Brics Parliamentary Forum which was held on the side-lines of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) currently underway in Madrid, Spain. She is leading a 6-member multiparty delegation of the South African Parliament to the Assembly.
She said that Covid was entrenching stereotypes in ways that could never have been imagined. The Speaker said the travel restrictions, which were not informed by science, were essentially a punishment for world class science and responsible global citizenship as well as transparency and oppeneness.