Government slow to act against third wave

THE IFP notes the difficult announcement made on Sunday by President Cyril Ramaphosa, that our country was now officially in the third wave of Covid-19 and would be placed under adjusted Alert Level 4.

The IFP believes that this announcement should stand as a clear admission of government's inability to be proactive in taking advice from experts and making decisions based on international best practices.

Government simply ignored the IFP's request to place an immediate travel ban to and from India as early as December last year, yet now we face another mammoth challenge, with the discovery of the Delta variant on our shores.

We have and always will support government decisions that prioritise the saving of lives, while balancing the preservation of livelihoods through limited economic activity, and an increase in government funds being appropriated towards service delivery and social relief efforts.

We remind government that the lockdown is not a permanent arrangement, as the consequences are far-reaching . By taking this step, government is making use of reactionary measures, instead of being proactive.

It is high time that government owns up to its failures. The effects of the many early mistakes and current poor decisions taken by our government have resulted in failures in procuring, purchasing and successfully rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine throughout the country.

We hope that the measures outlined by the president will significantly curb the transmission and spread of Covid-19 in order to flatten the curve.

Indeed, it is worrying that President Ramaphosa made no mention of the impact this may have on the upcoming IEC voter registration weekend and the 2021 local government elections.

It is imperative that government takes swift action in ramping up the vaccine roll-out programme.

We urge all South Africans to strictly comply with the adjusted Level 4 regulations and to once again stand united in the fight to disrupt the chain of transmission of this deadly virus. MKHULEKO HLENGWA | IFP National Spokesperson