Technology can improve lockdown enforcement
LAST week, security arms began applying a strict enforcement of lockdown conditions. Before that, one would have been forgiven for assuming the lockdown is now a fragment of history.
People were going about their business in a near normal manner, but with rising cases, authorities had to stamp their authority.
This culminated into a strict application of the lockdown conditions, thousands have been turned back at different checkpoints.
At a number of security checks, police officers have been allowing only those who work in the public sector, health sector and well known retailers, while the rest are being sent back home. Exemption letters are now the closest they have ever been to being useless. In fact, at previous lockdown levels, it was easier to move around with an employment letter than it is in this rejuvenated level two.
While it is commendable that law enforcement becomes strict in the face of rising Covid-19 cases, there are other well-meaning professionals who have found themselves failing to go to work. Employees have become collateral damage.
This creates a dilemma for employers, especially small enterprises, in that they are allowed to operate, but their workers cannot make it to work.
It appears there was a miscommunication somewhere and this may call for a recalibration of orders which were cascaded to police officers and army personnel manning security checks.
But even with their strict approach, the area around Ximex Mall, Copacabana and many other illegal deals hotspots continue to be populated.
Which begs the question; what use is the new strict approach to lockdown level two if it allows informal dealers through, but blocks professionals from reaching their places of work?
There is need to rethink how people who seek to move around are evaluated.
This is where technology can come in to help enhance accuracy and efficiency in the enforcement of lockdown level two.
Instead of relying on letters which have proven to be easy to manipulate and replicate, a digital system may help with a more watertight filtering of moving citizens.
Before even getting to their efficacy, a paperless system does not need much justification in the middle of a highly infectious disease.
Digital approaches have the propensity to save law enforcement officers and citizens time, as well as in terms of their health.
Through co-ordination of ministries and all involved entities, employers can submit their employee lists to a national database. Within this database, there can be categories that separate organisations in accordance to need.
In the event of any adjustment, the system can send messages to those in different categories advising them of their status.
For instance, if there are adjustments, those in sectors which will be required to stay at home can automatically be informed without having to face the inconvenience of being turned back.
The database, which will be centrally updated, can then be accessed by security officers at checkpoints through tablets or specific digital devices. Instead of having letters, citizens can have codes which are punched into a system and give a person’s key details. A barcode or QR code can be utilised to the same effect.
This means a person does not have to explain their way into the city centre, but their credentials, which would have been subjected to checks, will be available through a code.
The codes should not be new or organic, they can be linked to a person’s National Social Security Authority details.
By effecting this model, authorities can ensure that company owners do not engage in mischief of giving exemption letters to undeserving characters. In equal measure, companies that are applying unorthodox labour practices will be unable to trade until they regularise their operations in accordance with local laws.
An application linked to a database brings an element of liability on movement.
If a person is found breaking the law with an exemption dispensed by a company, the company should be held accountable.
Of course, the system will be slightly more complex than these skeletal suggestions carry, but this could be a starting point, conceptually speaking.
The engineering of such a system should be a walk in the park for many youthful skilled developers in the country.
With need for heightened Covid19 messaging, the same database can be utilised to communicate safety messages. In such unprecedented times, creative thinking and innovation has the potential of saving resources. Time being the most critical of resource.
China’s victory in the fight against Covid-19 has been largely attributed to technology.
If Zimbabwe decides to clear questions around exemptions, there may be need to take a digital route to complement the troops on the ground.
Human implementation remains important, but it can be made easier with the use of technological tools.
If approached in a transparent and methodical manner, it may not appear not to be an otherworldly suggestion.
There are many ready young software engineers, statisticians, coders, epidemiologists and designers waiting for the opportunity to serve their country.
This could be the perfect opportunity to rope them in.
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