Lolo Madonsela
Soccer teams throughout the province have been found to be flaunting lockdown regulations, which prohibit any contact sport without following proper procedures.
Vryheid has been no different, as a number of games have been played. Over the weekend, soccer teams participated in a tournament that took place in Lakeside, where the Joint Operations Committee (JOC) on Covid-19 had to intervene after the police failed to disperse the spectators and players.
The crowd was over the number allowed, with no masks, and there was no social distancing.
JOC member Mhlongo, who was first to arrive at the grounds, was met by resistance from spectators, some of whom threatened him. However the organisers of the tournament, together with another member of the JOC who arrived just in time, managed to calm the angry spectators down.
Cllr Lawrence Dube, who had also called for help in enforcing the law, felt disappointed by the police, who allegedly told the teams and spectators that they were only there because he had told them to come.
“They are a law enforcement agency, so they were supposed to enforce the law and let the people know what the regulations say about such gatherings, but instead they told the people that I am the one who told them to come and disperse them. This clearly indicates that the people who report crimes are not safe. So it means there will be no whistle-blowers, as the police will expose them to the perpetrators,” said Dube.
Dube is also a Covid-19 survivor and said his aim was not to let people go through what he went through.
“People are not taking this seriously. I spent eight full days in hospital, so I know the pain of being there – not being able to breathe and not having your loved ones come and see you. It was terrible! I was constantly on oxygen because I could not breathe. That is why people need to take care of themselves.
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“This too shall pass, but we need to instill discipline and follow the necessary precautions and protocols. It is not that we do not want people to partake in activities, but for now, let us take care of ourselves and go out only when necessary.
“I hope people do not take what happened in bad spirits; we are only trying to protect them. We have lost a lot of people due to this virus and AbaQulusi is the epicentre.
“This is not only about the players and their supporters, but also the people they live with; some of them live with elderly persons who are more vulnerable to the virus, so it is up to all of us to protect each other,” added Dube.
Meanwhile, MEC for Sport & Recreation Hlengiwe Mavimbela has issued a statement urging communities to stop playing amateur sport, following the death of a young player during an unsanctioned football match in the Mtubatuba area of the Umkhanyakude District recently.
The department stated that it continues to receive reports of sporting events, especially football matches, being played in many areas around KwaZulu-Natal, despite the restrictions on playing contact sport. Reports of people conducting unsanctioned training for other codes, including swimming, have also been received.
MEC Mavimbela said, “We wish to remind them that playing amateur sport, especially contact sport, is still prohibited under the current lockdown regulations. Amateur sport does not have the capacity to adhere to those strict regulations; hence it is unsafe to resume playing or training.”
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