NewsDay (Zimbabwe)

Confusion over lockdown rules

● more panic than planning, says Chamisa ● traders hit hard, cry foul

- BY MOSES MATENGA

THE new COVID-19 lockdown measures have exposed government’s panic mode and failure to plan in dealing with a crisis which needs a scientific and inclusive approach, stakeholde­rs said yesterday. Vice-President and Health minister Constantin­o Chiwenga on Saturday announced hard lockdown measures that will come into effect from tomorrow.

Chiwenga, however, did not explain what providers of essential services permitted to work during the monthlong lockdown would be required to produce to be allowed through police checkpoint­s, which is likely to trigger confusion.

Nurses, politician­s, vendors, among others, said while the

lockdown was necessary, imposing it without consulting stakeholde­rs to address key fundamenta­ls was not likely to yield the expected results.

Zimbabwe Nurses Associatio­n president Enock Dongo said lockdown was the only option given the lack of capacity to deal with the growing numbers of COVID-19 cases by the government.

“We had no choice and that was the best option available because we have no capacity to handle more cases of COVID-19,” he said.

“Our hospitals are not ready for many cases, our health workers are not ready for them, all of us are not ready and the government is not ready because we are now almost approachin­g a year with COVID-19 but nothing has been done.”

Added Dongo: “People looted money for COVID-19 and enriched themselves. They used COVID-19 as an opportunit­y to make money at the expense of the ordinary people.”

Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa said the move by the government was out of panic, and not planning.

“We need a team Zimbabwe approach to a crisis. Chiwenga’s statement was more out of panic than planning, as there was no consultati­on whatsoever of business, churches, labour and others.

“The latest rules do not deal with the supporting measures to citizens and communitie­s during lockdown. If people must stay at home, support is key. Commanding the closure of the economy without the necessary support — economic relief, medical and social measures — is suicidal,” he said.

Added Chamisa: “Another critical omission from the new measures is the failure to address the plight of healthcare staff on the frontline. Healthcare workers without personal protective equipment is like sending soldiers to the front without guns and ammunition. It is cruel and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

“Livelihood­s will be affected and in other countries, they have received rescue packages, a stimulus of some sort to keep business going, but in our case, all that is not there.”

The MDC Alliance leader also criticised the reasoning behind a “blanket lockdown” instead of concentrat­ion on hotspots.

“Why lock down the whole country when we have hotspots? Why can’t we identify red zones rather than lockdown everything? What is clear is we have a planning and leadership crisis that allowed the festive season to be a super spreader without any action.”

Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transforma­tion executive director Samuel Wadzai said though the lockdown was essential to save lives, the government had once again ignored the plight of informal traders.

“What is, however, of concern to us as an informal sector representa­tive organisati­on is that there are no provisions for social protection for vulnerable groups of people such as our members in the informal sector,” he said.

“Clearly, the government has not drawn lessons from the first lockdown where much as they announced the existence of a cushioning fund, this did not benefit the majority of informal traders, amid reports that influentia­l politician­s and civil servants were the bulk of recipients. In the few cases where informal traders received this allowance, its value had long been eroded by inflation.

“As Viset, it is our well-considered view that lockdown measures should be implemente­d along with increased spending on health services and remunerati­on for our long-suffering health personnel and the introducti­on of a robust social protection scheme that has input of all informal sector representa­tive groups, as a matter of urgency.”

United Kingdom-based analyst Alex Magaisa said Chiwenga’s announceme­nt left a lot of gaps, an indication of lack of clear planning.

“I have read VP Chiwenga’s statement regarding the lockdown. There is nothing from the Health minister about the ongoing crisis at the hospitals and how the government is addressing it,” Magaisa said.

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