Mzansi calls on Ramaphosa to address Beitbridge border 'crisis'

Calls are mounting for President Cyril Ramaphosa to speak out on the chaos at the Beitbridge border post.

Over the past few days, the situation at the border between SA and Zimbabwe has made headlines after reports that the Zimbabwean authorities banned international travel on January 4.

TimesLIVE reported on Wednesday that many Zimbabwean citizens were trying to enter SA, both legally and illegally.

The influx created a huge backlog in the processing of documentation and Covid-19 testing and screening, which resulted in hundreds of people, many not wearing masks, crammed together without social distancing.

Officials in Limpopo identified 18 cases of fake negative Covid-19 test results produced at the post by people attempting to enter the country.

On Twitter, EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi questioned Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s absence from the front line.

Ndlozi slammed Mnangagwa, saying he should stop “grandstanding on Twitter”. 

“Take mobile test stations to your borders with SA. This is the most urgent problem now. The border is presenting a big superspreader event. Oh, and are you actually tweeting from a holiday or from work?”

Ndlozi also rejected calls for the border to be closed, claiming that it would be “inhumane” and “breed a worse humanitarian crisis than Covid-19”.

On social media, many called on Ramaphosa to say something because “people are dying”.

Here are some of the reactions: