Community members, especially in Kagiso and Munsieville, have recently raised concerns about a group of ‘volunteer sanitizers’ seeking access to their homes.
The Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) noted that they’ve received numerous queries about the identity of those people, what exactly they’re doing and if, in fact, they are involved in some kind of nefarious deed. Looking at posts and comments on local community Facebook pages, these concerns seem to intensify.
A few comments on the Baagi Ba Mogale City Facebook page are especially disconcerting. Abram Themba writes, “Does the mayor or municipality know of this? Why didn’t they inform the community?”
Refilwe Motsepe said, “I think they are cleaners”. Mbalisting Ntaka said, “Never let them in bagolo, they are going to kill us”. Thabs Tman Thabza asked, “I mean, how is sanitizing going to help me or protect me anyway?” Minkateko Mphahlane posted, “I think those guys are the ones who bring the virus here in Kagiso. You will remember my words.” Shaun Aka Mathebulakhalanga echoed what other mentioned. “Call neighbours and hold them until police come. They hide while they’re spraying because that’s a disease they’re bringing to keep us. I feel sorry for that family of that gogo.”
By the end of the second day since this feed was posted, the comments totalled 260. There was a general sense of confusion, but the above comments are unfounded and untrue, as the MCLM later clarified.
In a public statement, the MCLM noted that the Executive Mayor, Francis Makgatho was concerned about false information being spread in the community.
“Social media and WhatsApp groups have been abuzz with information about the non-governmental organisation (NGO) whom people have been referring to as ‘men in white PPE’ sanitizing our communities.”
The men in question are Scientology Volunteer Ministers (SVM), who provided sanitization equipment and products at their own expense to attempt to decrease the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Kagiso and Munsieville. The MCLM specified that the SVM is a non-profit organisation, and that the MCLM is by no means paying for their services or the products they use.
The MCLM stated that, “Our collaboration with SVM, which was also informed by their partnership with other government institutions all over South
Africa, including the national and provincial Departments of Social Development, was purely on the basis of them having launched the Covid-19 Disaster Response Programme to manage the spread of Covid-19”.
To address some of the more specific questions they have received directly, the MCLM said, “The SVM team consists of 50 volunteers, inclusive of both African (black) and white staffers who use Decon7 fogging machines, which is the highest level of decontamination. It is environmentally safe and consists of hydrogen peroxide, detergent soap, inorganic salts, hydrogen peroxide booster and water to neutralise viruses and bacteria which can also be harmful if it gets in your eyes, or covers a large area of your skin. It is for this reason that SVM staff must be in protective gear when decontaminating spaces. The chemical must also be wiped off after 15 minutes of it being discharged in households.”
The MCLM also addressed concerns that the public was not informed beforehand.”We realise that there might not have been proper communication to our communities prior to embarking on this project, but the public should note that no tender was issued; the project is at no cost to the municipality and the decontamination process will not poison any person whose home or surrounds have been disinfected.”
