Amadiba Crisis Committee 2020-03-25: Amadiba coast in lock down. No tourists allowed.
Because of its estuaries, biodiversity and beautiful coast line, the Amadiba coast is a tourism hot spot. However, this Wild Coast area went into Lock Down on Tuesday following ACC organised community meeting.
The goal is to stop the Corona virus from entering the community. After the meeting, tourists were asked to leave the Mtentu lodge and the nearby camp site. Tourists who had come as usual to fish also were asked to leave.
People from cities must abandon plans to drive to Wild Coast in Amadiba to escape the lockdown. “Corona tourism” will not be allowed.
During the lock down, the Mtentu lodge will not pay rent to the Amadiba Coastal Community Development Trust (ACCODA). In return, the tenant will continue to pay full wages to community members working at the lodge. As ACC, we think this is a blue print for how it should work during the crisis. All workers should be paid!
The Amadiba Crisis Committee urges all other communities on the Wild Coast to organise and protect their lives by stopping tourists during this time. When this is over, tourism will start again and we will develop it further.
ACC has been undertaking an awareness campaign amongst our community on the coronavirus, the threat it poses and what we must do to stop the spread of the disease. ACC’s awareness campaign continues and we take what action we can. Starting from now, ACC will distribute hand sanitiser bottles with 70% alcohol gel. We hope to have one bottle in every homestead on the coast still within this week. However, the Corona threat is too big for a rural community to handle alone, even if it is well organised and tries to stay informed. We have a great deal of needs if we are to be effective in this work.
Everybody agree that we must stop the virus from spreading. If the virus spreads in rural areas like Amadiba, it can end in a major catastrophe. It is the same in townships and informal settlements.
There is no clinic on the Amadiba coast and there are no ambulances to transport the sick. From many areas you have one hour to travel to the only clinic in whole of Amadiba and it is not well resourced. Corona is not stopped by Panado.
We need a mobile clinic to travel around right now in coastal and inland Amadiba. For sure, it is the same in all rural areas. The government must employ all unemployed nurses and doctors who have finished studies and training. There are many thousands of them. Now is the time to end such embarrassments.
For their own safety, taxi drivers might refuse to transport people with Coronavirus symptoms to the clinics. In the large Amadiba we need at least one ambulance with protection for staff who can take care of those who need it. For sure, this is also the same in other rural areas. We need sanitising and other safety equipment for taxi drivers. The mini-bus taxis are the only form of transport.
We call upon the Government to put private ambulances at the disposal of everyone for free, whether private business likes it or not. We call on government to distribute sanitiser and safety equipment to our community and other rural communities.
Shall we continue to pay the price for 25 years of wrong economic priorities and development benefitting old and new “directors” only? Health care for profit kills the majority living in our country.
The Corona crisis should mean the end of all imposed and top-down “development” that benefits “directors”, “board members” and state officials who tries to get rich from getting a cut in “private public partnerships”.
ENDS
Amadiba Crisis Committee
Spokesperson: Nonhle Mbuthuma 0763592982
Chair: Sbusiso Mqadi 0634964074
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