Zim cannot take any more COVID-19 deaths
THE numbers confirm that Zimbabwe is being overwhelmed by the second wave of the coronavirus, which according to reports, has hit the very heart of the nation with about half of government officials suffering from COVID-19. The virus has swept into the country with a nightmarish force and its victims are forcing the government to take action. Before the new year, government action on the virus bordered on tokenism, and it is informing that it was practically absent in discussions around a possible vaccine at that time.
In the past week alone, ministers Sibusiso Moyo (Foreign Affairs and International Trade), Joel Biggie Matiza (Transport) and Ellen Gwaradzimba (Manicaland Provincial Affairs), former minister Aeneas Chigwedere fell victim to the virus, as were liberation stalwarts, Morton Malianga and former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services boss Paradzai Zimondi; Christopher Chigumba and Zimbabwe’s first black central bank governor Kombo Moyana.
These high-profile deaths, most at private health institutions, have rightly courted criticism for government’s response to COVID-19 and the deplorable state of public health sector.
It is folly to blame government for a virus that is causing havoc globally and devastated even the largest economy in the world, the United States of America, but it is also true that the initial indifference of the authorities played a large part in shaping the country’s lackadaisical response to the outbreak.
The propensity by ministers to bend rules they themselves would have announced to accommodate their whims did not help.
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa hosted her 60th birthday party ahead of the festive season last year which was attended by other ministers and senior government officials without observing COVID-19 protocols and then claimed that she did “nothing wrong” at a time government banned weddings, birthdays, house parties, political and other social gatherings and music concerts.
According to reports, businessman and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s adviser Kuda Tagwirei also allegedly hosted a party to usher in the New Year which was attended by several ministers and senior government officials and businesspeople. Critics say both events were super spreaders.
The laws and regulations put in place by government are not meant for the poor and weak only, but are meant to safeguard everyone.
In his address to the nation on Saturday, Mnangagwa said: “There are no spectators, adjudicators, no holier than thou, no super men or super women. We are all exposed. We are all potential victims. We are all affected, one way or the other.”
“The situation which confronts us, may make us feel depressed and helpless. Let me remind each and every one of us that we have been through worse challenges; challenges we had to face on our own.”
It would help if everyone pays heed to those words, but the government needs to, as a matter of urgency, address the shortcomings in the public health sector because Zimbabwe cannot afford to keep losing people at this rate.