The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo is deeply concerned by the lack of transparency and information on the location of Covid-19 quarantine and isolation facilities, identified in Limpopo by the Provincial Government.
On the 25th of June 2020 during a fortnightly Covid-19 meeting between Premier Mathabatha and parties represented in the Limpopo Legislature the DA requested information on isolation and quarantine centres in the province, as well as their locations. We were told these facilities were identified and a list would be sent along with other presentations that had been used during the meeting but this has not happened.
On the 9th of June 2020 we wrote to the HOD and Public works MEC Dickson Masemola requesting the names and location of the facilities that had been identified. We then wrote a letter to Premier Mathabatha on the 8th of July 2020 requesting the same information and in both cases the information was not forthcoming, despite the Provincial Government’s claim that the list was readily available.
One has to wonder what the Provincial Government is hiding by not supplying the DA with the requested information.
During the meeting of political parties and Office of the Premier, the DA felt that it was important to provide an alternative to the disadvantaged and vulnerable in the province, who have no space or the luxury of separate rooms to isolate in, in their homes for the required 10 day period.
A sizeable portion of Limpopo’s population live in poverty and in informal settlements which might make it difficult to have enough space to effectively isolate. In the past few weeks we’ve seen Limpopo Covid-19 numbers increasing dramatically and although this might be due to many factors it cannot be ruled out that one of those may be the fact that the vulnerable in our communities do not have enough space to isolate from other people.
This blatant disregard for a simple and reasonable request for information in order to carry out our oversight function as members of the Limpopo Legislature is deeply concerning and disappointing.
The Premier and his provincial government must be transparent with regard to these facilities in order to allow members to ensure that these Covid-19 facilities are suitable and meet basic standards. It is also worrisome that the Premier has yet again stalled on the fortnightly meetings with the Political parties since the 25th of June 2020.
The DA will continue to demand this information in order to carry out our oversight role and ensure the province is providing appropriate facilities to the people of Limpopo.