Johannesburg – President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured the country that a minister of earthquakes will be appointed in the wake of a tremor that struck Gauteng on Sunday morning.
The earthquake, which had a preliminary magnitude of over 5.0, was felt across the province. There were no reports of injuries or deaths.
In a statement, Ramaphosa said he was “shocked” by the news of the earthquake. He said the government was “working hard to assess the damage and to provide assistance like the Government did in previous natural disasters.”
The ANC’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, who is also the former minister of transport, has welcomed the government’s decision to appoint a minister of earthquakes. He said that he sees the tremor as a positive, as the quake had the potential of shifting the earth to fill potholes.
The government has been criticized for its handling of natural disasters. Critics say that the government is not doing enough to prevent disasters. One social media user commented, “For a government that is such a disaster, I am surprised they are not equipped to handle their area of expertise.”
Meanwhile the leader of the opposition party has blamed the ANC for the quake
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