South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday said the unrest in July in Kwa-Zulu Natal and parts of Gauteng had exposed social and economic inadequacies in the country.
Speaking during a question and answer session in parliament on Friday, Ramaphosa said more work needed to be done to prepare law enforcement officials to respond to such situations.
He also urged South Africans to go out and get vaccinated in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and help the country reach herd immunity.
He dismissed the notion that the government’s actions to impose restrictions were done to deprive citizens of their rights.
“I do not buy into the notion that this is being done by authoritarian, dictatorial governments around the world to force people to be vaccinated,” he said.
Ramaphosa said refusal to vaccinate would not only put individuals at risk but endanger the lives of others, lead to a rise in infections and harm the economy.