‘ARVs are not Panado’: Motsoaledi on zama zamas asking for medication

Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says it is illegal for the illegal miners, colloquially known as zama zamas, who refuse to leave the mine shaft in Stilfontein to be sent antiretrovirals (ARVs).

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), an estimated 400 illegal miners are underground in an abandoned mine in Stilfontein, North West province. The miners who refuse to resurface, fearing arrest, wrote a note requesting ARVs which are used to treat HIV/AIDS.

WHY ARE ZAMA ZAMAS IN STILFTONEIN ASKING FOR ARVs?

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Motsoaledi said a doctor must diagnose a patient first and then prescribe the ARVs, reiterating that the pills are not like panado and over-the-counter medication, and most importantly, they are not distributed like food, water, and vitamins.

Motsoaledi said the deputy police commissioner confirmed that the ARVs would be sent down to the Zama Zamas; however, he is unsure how she could do that.

“Who do you send ARVs to? As I’m saying, for you to get any medication, especially like ARVs, a doctor ought to have examined you and prescribed them. Under whose name will the ARVs come out, where will they come out, and what will they be treating? We don’t know anybody’s diagnosis,” Motsoaledi said.

Further, Motsoaledi said that police minister Senzo Mchunu told him that if there is a doctor who is willing to go underground and examine the zama zamas, they will not be stopped by police.

“We can’t just take medicine and say somebody demanded ARVs; we are taking them there. What if we are causing harm to a particular person?” the minister asked.

COURT ORDER

Meanwhile, at the weekend, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ordered that the mine shaft in Stilfontein be unblocked and may not be blocked by any person or institution, whether government or private. 

The court also ordered that any miners trapped in the mine shaft be permitted to exit and that no non-emergency personnel may enter the mine shaft.

The matter was brought to court by society for protection of our constitution and has been postponed to Thursday, 21 November.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DEMANDS OF THE ILLEGAL MINERS?

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