Warning: ‘Health Department’ rent letter to landlords is a fake
The letter, on the department's letterhead, claimed that the health minister had gazetted the regulations to deal with the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A letter doing the rounds on social media claiming that tenants don’t have to pay their landlords for the next 90 days is fake news. The Citizen, part of the Caxton group, reported that the Health Department had dismissed claims that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize had ‘barred landlords from collecting rent money from their tenants for the next 90 days.’
The letter, on the department’s letterhead, claimed that the health minister had gazetted the regulations to deal with the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The letter stated that anyone who did not adhere to the set regulations was guilty of an offence.
“A person is guilty of an offence if that person fails to comply with these regulations. A person convicted of an offence mentioned in sub-regulation (1) is liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment not exceeding six months or to both such a fine or imprisonment (sic),” the letter read.
However, Health Department spokesman Lwazi Manzi said the department had not issued such a letter.
“The information in the letter is fake news,” he said.
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