Windhoek — IT is not only the cats at Ramatex that are in a terrible condition - the premises in general and the hostels in which the former Asian Ramatex workers were housed are in a filthy and chaotic state.

It is almost unbelievable that people once lived there. All of the rooms are still fully furnished, with the mattresses still on the beds. There are also heaps of clothing and shoes left in the rooms as well as curtains, cutlery, crockery and other personal belongings.

Buckets, bowls, pots, tables and chairs are strewn across the grounds, some in good condition and certainly reusable. The outside lights at the hostels have been left burning and taps running since the departure of the last of the Ramatex workers weeks ago.