Ramaphosa’s ‘apology’ calms storm over Limpopo virus quarantine

Despite earlier threats of protest, the 122 people evacuated from the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan in China can now expect a warm welcome in Limpopo, after President Cyril Ramaphosa apparently “apologised” for his lack of proper consultation.

The ANC, however, denied claims that the president was made to eat humble pie.

It is understood Ramaphosa had to apologise to Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha for the alleged misunderstanding.

It is alleged the president had to tender the apology after the ANC Youth League at the Peter Mokaba region, ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) members and Mathabatha’s cabinet complained that there was no thorough consultation with the province by the national government about quarantining the returnees in Limpopo.

This led to the ANC Youth League and the Economic Freedom Fighters threatening to plunge the province into turmoil. In light of this, the party’s national leadership allegedly deployed Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Police Minister Bheki Cele and the entire inter-ministerial committee to meet with the Limpopo ANC PEC on Thursday.

“We have since called off the protest because we happened to find each other during the meeting,” said a youth league member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The league had earlier released a statement, threatening to protest against the quarantine matter. Most of those who spoke to The Citizen claimed they were angry because they said the national government was looking down on Limpopo. They said Limpopo was a “dumping site for poison”.

“If Limpopo was receptive and welcoming, then why didn’t they parade the Springboks after winning the Rugby World Cup here. Instead they took them to Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal,” said Petrus Manganyi, a tourism student in Polokwane.

Kenny Mathivha, spokesman for Mathabatha, said he was not aware of the president’s apology, “but the premier is currently attending an ANC meeting at Luthuli House in Johannesburg”.

Attempts to get comment from Ramaphosa spokesperson Khusela Diko did not yield any results as her phone rung unanswered.

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said the president did not have to apologise to the province. Mabe said consultation was important, but what was even more important was to make sure that “we save lives”.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed yesterday that eight more people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of positive cases to 24.

All these cases were from travellers coming into South Africa from other countries, with 10 cases being in KwaZulu-Natal, 10 in Gauteng, three in the Western Cape and one in Mpumalanga.

– Additional reporting by News24 Wire

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