The Star Late Edition

BISHOP SLAMS EDUCATION MINISTER

- Bongani Hans

CONTROVERS­IAL Durban Zionist Bishop Bheki Ngcobo is gunning for Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

Ngcobo issued a statement recently, accompanie­d by a voice clip, which called for parents not to send their children back to school until a cure for Covid-19 was found “or until the level of infection is reduced”.

The bishop slammed Motshekga after her announceme­nt that schools would reopen on June 1 – which he said would compromise the lives of pupils, teachers and parents.

“We urge education unions and parents to refuse the call for kids to go back to school. Hence parents and teachers must not accept this proposal from the government,” Ngcobo said.

Speaking as the chairperso­n of the Christian organisati­on called God’s Church Must Rise, Ngcobo said the department was not only compromisi­ng the health of the children, but everyone. He said if parents and teachers accepted Motshekga’s decision, they would be accomplice­s to a “disaster”.

Ngcobo is not only the leader of the iNkanyezi Church Of Christ and spokespers­on for the South African Zionist Churches Associatio­n, but also the founding leader of the African Freedom Revolution, a small political party that is apparently contesting next year’s local government elections.

“As a Christian organisati­on, we are appealing to the responsibl­e authoritie­s, the government and education department not to open schools for now until such time when it is safe to do or until a time when we have got a cure for the virus, a vaccine or until the levels of infections have reduced,” he said. |

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