One of the trending news is that of the smuggling of bodies from South Africa with most of them suspected to be of victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. The clearance of the bodies of Zimbabweans who die in South Africa is unnecessarily cumbersome. The processes required do not take into account that some citizens would have skipped the border without proper documentation and this affects thousands of people dotted across the Rainbow Nation.
Immigration officials take advantage of the situation and demand thousands of dollars to process papers or even turn a blind eye to body smuggling.
Whilst this has worked in the past without serious health repercussions recorded, the Covid-19 pandemic is a totally different period. Smuggling of bodies risks the health of immigration officials, authorities that check vehicles and the drivers.
With some of the bodies sharing space with groceries—there is even more risk for those receiving the goods being imported from South Africa. Most recipients will be oblivious to the condition of the transportation of the goods.
As South Africa heads for the peak of the novel pandemic, it’s inevitable that our daughters and sons of the soil will be affected. Even as SA records statistics of infections and deaths, they should inform respective governments of the victims where feasible so that repatriation can be facilitated in an efficient and effective manner.
How is the South African government dealing with foreigners succumbing to the pandemic? They should have easily available guidance of who to contact and the sort of assistance they can provide.
How is Zimbabwe also handling the issue of citizens succumbing to the Covid-19 pandemic on foreign soil especially South Africa? How is the country dealing with bodies properly processed and cleared and those smuggled?
The Covid -19 task forces in both countries should engage each other especially at government level as this has the potential of posing serious health risks for a lot of direct and third parties. Our borders risk becoming epicentres of the Covid-19.
Why is repatriation expensive? Why is the repatriation process information not easily available to the public? How can our responsible governments come in and solve the bottlenecks?
