Candid Covid Conversations(CCC)

Welcome to Candid Covid Conversations. Today is Day 32 of the lockdown. The shenanigans have started.Starring Mthuli Ncube as Minister of Finance and his P.S. Several announcements have been made.The first was to the effect that Government had set aside USD 100 million enough to vaccinate 10 million people.It went on to invite the corporate sector to chip in.Soon after that Government made a u turn and said the employers should register their own employees and finance them.In the midst of this confusion The Minister went on to inform the nation that Government had spent usd 300 million in 2020 on Covid responses. Last night we were the told once again that citizens must pay for their own vaccines.Lastly there was a joint statement stating expenditure for 2020 signed by The Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Health. Reading through this mess one can already sense that there is a disaster in the making.It seems Government especially the Ministry of Finance enjoy immunity from consultation.This columnist and some moderators within this platform had been mandated by our corporate leaders to sift proposals that come through and forward to them for recommending to Government on the way forward.We had some good proposals. One was to convert the Aids Levy for now into a Covid levy and the other one was for a fund into which companies could contribute even way over their employee numbers. All these have been rendered useless by the individualistic approach by Government. What I find mindboggling is the fact that a neighbouring country has promised to vaccinate all including undocumented foreigners at its own expense.There is no prize for guessing where the majority of undocumented foreigners come from.Then here you have a Government that collects taxes but asks citizens to pay for themselves.This is not a political column but just a candid conversation . We want responsibility and accountability. Where and how was the 300 million spent. Covid is the worst enemy that mankind has encountered in the last 100 years and requires seriousness of purpose.Other countries are busy vaccinating their citizens in an orderly manner.It's not too late to borrow those models. On another note the UK observed a minute of clapping in honour of their hero Captain Moore.In the midst of a crisis this nation found each other.We can do the same.Let us unite to defeat Covid.This is not a matter for employers/employees. It's a national issue.So the best solution is for TNF to convene and come up with an all encompassing strategy on the way forward. I got a message yesterday from one of our readers about the effect of Covid on our students.You cannot imagine the damage caused to this generation.We may never catch up and we need to be aware that this gap will affect us for 2 more generations. It's like what happened in Soweto in 1976.Right now we are cooking a generation of kids who through no fault of their own will have a hard time in future.I pray that this thing goes away soonest so we can get our kids back in school. The covid numbers are coming down thanks to the lockdown. The problem however is what next.What do we do once the lockdown ends and what have we done in preparation for the pissibility of a third wave. Our best defence is ourselves. Once again we are the people of God.Let us thank him every morning when you wake up alive.Play your part by washing your hands ,sanitizing,wearing masks properly,eating healthy and exercising everyday.Inhale steam drink your zumbani stay away from crowds and do whatever is possible not to get sick.Good morning and God Bless