Cele: Alcohol sale doesn’t mean people should break the law

The minister said people should stick to the times and days when alcohol would be sold during level 3 regulations.

JOHANNESBURG - Police Minister Bheki Cele on Thursday said the lifting of the ban of alcohol sales did not mean people should break the law.

Cele said people should stick to the times and days when alcohol would be sold during level 3 regulations. This is from Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm.

While the purchase of alcohol returns, cigarette sales will not be allowed. South Africans also can't move from their provinces without a permit, and hotspots could see their level heightened.

Cele said allowing the sale of alcohol during level 3 lockdown would be a challenge.

But he was confident the men in blue were up for it.

“They [liquor traders] shouldn’t be tempted [to break the law] but at 5 pm everybody closes, there is no sit-downs. So, don’t get tempted to break the law,” Cele said.

The minister warned retailers and civilians not to purchase cigarettes unlawfully.

He said people should remember no social gatherings were allowed under any circumstances.

WATCH: Level 3 allowances SA: COVID-19 Situation Desk - 28 May PM

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola on Friday said although government’s lockdown regulations had not sat well with all South Africans, he believed it was always rational.

He said government could not please everybody.

“When we deal with the data that is in front of us, we take decisions that we believe are rationally connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, but another person might have a different view,” Lamola said.

For official information about COVID-19 from the Department of Health, please click here.