Several people among a group of South Africans repatriated from Mozambique on 27 April claim that they haven’t been tested for the coronavirus (COVID-19) and are being quarantined in unhygienic conditions.
The group was taken to the government-owned Zithabiseni Resort and Conference Centre outside Groblersdal, in Mpumalanga.
In the video below, Mpumalanga identifies venues to be used as COVID-19 quarantine sites:
Their complaints include allegations that the resort is run-down and infested with cockroaches.
The people say although they stay in better rondavels, they’re uncomfortable with the squalor that surrounds them. They allege that most of the rondavels in the resort have either been burnt down or are in ruins, and the conditions are unhealthy.
“The place is filthy. We didn’t have any dishwasher. There is no soap; no nothing but the place is just filthy. It still is. If we clean it, we don’t have any dust panel or anything. We can’t stay in a place like this for a long time not cleaning. You need to mop now and then because we are here. They’re saying they are quarantining us. So it’s supposed to be safer and cleaner. We have to clean now and then. Since we came here, we never mopped as there are no mops and cleaning materials. The toilet we are using we’re just flushing, flushing. We don’t clean the toilets. What are we going to use to clean? Can you believe, we use this sanitiser now even with our dishes?” says Nomzamo Madonsela, one of those who are unhappy.
Their complaints include a lack of toilet seats in most bathrooms and that taps are broken and tiles are falling off the walls. Bathtubs and showers are grimy and there are live, exposed electric wires in these areas. They also complain about the state of water and food they consume.
One of the complainants says they had no access to hot water when they arrived at the resort.
“When we go there, there was no hot water. Okay, so (we’re like) it’s fine, there is no hot water, we can live with that. The following day, there was no hot water. So, we called them and then they came to fix it. Our breakfast came at 10:00 and it wasn’t nice. Our lunch didn’t come at all. We had to go to the kitchen to complain that we didn’t receive our lunch and when we finally did receive our lunch, it was just rice and I think some left overs.”
Others say they realised when they arrived that the living conditions in the resort are not up to standard.
“So, when we got here, everyone else was allocated to their rooms and they told us we are not on the list. So, we had to fight because initially they were saying that they’re going to mix us with other people. So, we had to fight. First of all, we had to fight not to be mixed with other people.”
However, the authorities have refuted the claims. They say the resort is a suitable facility and even though it has dilapidated buildings, the ones selected for quarantine were in a satisfactory and habitable condition.
“We have got a team of people that is servicing these chalets and they’re a team of people that are there to ensure that if there are issues of maintenance that are sporadic, they attend to those issues. They’re complaining about food and what we can say, the menu that is used there is not the normal menu that Zithabiseni Resort uses. But it’s the menu that was given by the Department of Health. The Department of Health is having people that are there on daily basis that ensure that everything is up to standard and we keep to the health and safety requirements,” says Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency Chief Executive Officer, Johannes Nobunga.
The group of disgruntled repatriates says they intend taking the Mpumalanga government to court to force it to release them from quarantine.
