The declaration was made on Monday following the issuance of an interim order by the Pretoria High Court, which declared that no individual or organization, public or private, may obstruct the shaft.
Judge Brenda Neukircher issued an order allowing relief workers to enter the mine, where thousands of workers are said to be trapped and in dire need of food and medical care.
The Society for the Protection of Our Constitution urgently requested the lifeline in response to the government’s harsh stance against the miners, whom it called “criminals.“
The illegal miners wrote a note in isiZulu to the on-site authorities and community rescue teams on Monday, requesting that ARVs be sent into the mine shaft.
“Sicela ama ARVs plz, abantu bayawadinga ngapha. Siyacela bandla”.
Translated in English: “Can we please have ARV pills. People need them here, please.”
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Monday, Motsoaledi said the request presents a complexity.
“The department (of health) in itself does not provide anybody with any medication. We develop policies, and the issue of you getting medication is between you and your doctor. Firstly, a doctor must diagnose you and prescribe for you. Antiretrovirals are not Panado, they are not over-the-counter medication,” said Motsoaledi.
“They go from a doctor to a patient or a nurse to a patient following particular policies and standards, but only after an encounter with such a doctor. They are not just distributed like food, water or like vitamins. That is what I was discussing with the Minister (of Police Senzo Mchunu).”
Motsoaledi said he does not know how the SA Police Service could possibly send ARVs down the shaft to the stranded miners who apparently take the chronic medication.
“Who do you send the ARVs to? As I am 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, and where will they come out from? What will they be treating, because we do not know the diagnosis of anybody,” said the minister.
