President to attend East London mass funeral service for 21 youth

The teenagers - some as young as 13 - passed away at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London in the early hours of Sunday, 26 June 2022.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday attend the mass funeral service for the 21 young people who died last week in East London in the Eastern Cape.

The teenagers - some as young as 13 - passed away at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London in the early hours of Sunday, 26 June 2022. According to the Presidency, the President will be joined by Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and provincial and local government leaders in comforting the families of the deceased youth.

The service will take place at Scenery Park Sports Field, East London from 09:00. In his weekly letter to the nation on Monday, President Ramaphosa called on civil society, government, and communities to come together to fight the scourge of underage drinking in South Africa.

The President said the growing trend of underage drinking is not only illegal but also psychologically and physically detrimental.

"The increased social acceptability of young people drinking alcohol has become a serious problem in a country where the majority of the drinking population are already classified by the World Health Organisation as binge drinkers.

"Alcohol use amongst adolescents is associated with impaired function, absenteeism from learning, alcohol-related injuries, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and risky behaviour," he said.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)