“SEVEN
teachers' unions yesterday petitioned Primary and Secondary Education minister
Cain Mathema to stop the re-opening of schools until COVID-19 is effectively
contained,” reported Bulawayo 24.
What will constitute “effective” containment of the virus?
Indeed,
for someone who has not been following the corona virus story in
Zimbabwe closely, the country has never had a covid-19 outbreak to contain. Schools
should have re-opened ages ago!
The
overwhelming majority of Zimbabwe’s official 63 confirmed covid-19 cases are
people who had been outside the country. In the last month, there has not been a
single covid-19 case that was attributed to local infection. It is therefore
reasonable to conclude there are no known covid-19 local infections.
It is
nonsensical to impose much less maintain nationwide lockdown when there are no cases
of local infectious people.
Of all
the people, the teachers must know the lasting damage any disruption to a child’s
education will cause and hence the reason why everything possible must be done
to avoid any such disruptions.
In
Zimbabwe, most schools closed end of March 2020, at the start of the nationwide
lockdown impose to contain the spread of covid-19. The children have already
lost two terms of this year’s education. It would be irresponsible to extend the
disruption by even one more day, especially over unreasonable “effective
containment” demands.
However,
for someone who has been following the covid-19 outbreak in Zimbabwe, the
teachers’ demands for effective containment is reasonable and necessary. There are
many reasons to believe there are a hell-lot more covid-19 cases than the
government official reports suggest!
Here
are just three reasons why Zimbabwe’s 63 covid-19 confirmed cases out of 16
million compared to South Africa’s 24 264 confirmed cases with 60 million is
suspect:
·
South Africa has made a concerted effort to follow the WHO
recommendation to test, tack and trace aggressive, 9.84 out of 1000 South
Africans have been tested compared to 1.05 in Zimbabwe.
·
Zimbabwe has not been testing some of the target groups such
malaria patients even though they had covid-19 symptoms. In the last two weeks
the country has been testing ordinary workers, ahead of frontline health care
workers, following a government directive they must be tested before returning
to work.
·
There is growing evidence that Zimbabwe has been under reporting
its covid-19 cases. For example, 6 Zimbabwean truck drivers who tested covid-19
positive in Zambia were send back and re-tested in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe reported
of only one drives being covid-19 positive!
There
are signs to show there are many people with the corona virus infection out
there than government is letting on. If the schools reopen, then teachers and
students alike will necessarily come into close conduct with many people putting
themselves/ others at risk catching/spreading the virus.
There
are three basic conditions which the Zimbabwe government must meet before
schools can reopen:
1)
Government must ramp up its test, track and tracing to give the
nation the confidence there are indeed no legions covid-19 cases out there.
2)
Government must demonstrate its ramped up test, track and
tracing is sustainable and will quickly pickup any covid-19 hotspots.
3)
The government has yet to assure the nation that the country’s
health care system is equipped to deal with a serious covid-19 outbreak. The
flu season is fast approaching with the cold weather and there is a distinct
possibility the number of covid-19 cases will grow exponentially the country’s
health care service has all but collapsed as has the education system. The last
thing any school wants is having to take care of many covid-19 sick students
and teachers, especially given they are under resourced!
History
will say this Zanu PF government jumped the gun when it imposed the nationwide
lockdown and closed the schools on 30 March 2020 when there was no evidence of
corona virus was spreading in the country.
If the
regime should go ahead and open the school next month; history will judge that
a foolish and reckless move since the regime deliberately supressed the
evidence covid-19 was spreading like wildfire in the country!
This is crazy, the three ladies are the victims of a very serious crime. They are being accused of breaking the lockdown rules and those who abducted and abused the three ladies are guilty of a serious criminal act. And now the three ladies are being treated as dangerous criminals whilst those who kidnapped them have not even been arrested!
ReplyDeleteIn response to the Zimbabwe Republic Police’s decision to charge three female opposition MDC-Alliance party youth leaders for participating in peaceful protests against hunger during the lockdown period last month, Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa said:
ReplyDelete“Joana Mamombe, Cecelia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova are victims of police brutality, sexual assault and enforced disappearance. Before charging them for allegedly breaking the lockdown rules, authorities must investigate the crimes against them.
“The charges against these three women are a travesty and ploy to intimidate the opposition and send a chilling message that anyone who challenges the government is putting themselves at risk.
This is a tragic situation that has been repeated countless times. As long as Zanu PF remains in power we will continue to have violence designed to keep the nation in fear because that is the only way the regime can remain in power.
ZIMBABWE’S confirmed coronavirus cases have accelerated to a shock 132 with 76 new cases recorded in Beitbridge, Masvingo and Harare.
ReplyDeleteThis was announced Wednesday by Information ministry permanent secretary Nick Mangwana.
The cases were 56 on Tuesday.
The steep climb in new cases comes just after the country opened its borders to citizens who were stranded in countries such as South Africa, Botswana and other destinations.
75 were returnees and only one was a local transmission.
How many of these returnees got the virus in the quarantine centres precisely because of the unhygienic conditions in these centres?
It is very possible that we continue to have very low local infection because we are not testing, tracking and tracing aggressively! There are growing numbers of people in the country, with corona virus like symptoms, suffering and dying and they are not tested to confirm if they are indeed covid-19 cases. This is only helping the virus spread!
Online reports indicate that 12 new Coronavirus cases have been detected at Masvingo Teachers' College where some returnees are being housed.
ReplyDeleteZimmorning Post reports that 12 samples that were collected yesterday have tested positive of the deadly virus.
The paper said sources from the President's Office said the positive cases are deportees from South Africa and Botswana.
How many of these picked the virus because of the unhygienic conditions in the quarantine centre!
Are there no local infections or is it just that the authorities are not testing any suspected local cases!
On the 23rd of May a total of 186 PCR tests were done and 12 were positive for COVID-19 from Masvingo.
ReplyDeleteOn the 25th of May a total of 404 PCR tests were conducted and 64 tested positive for COVID-19 (Harare-35, Masvingo -12, Mat North -1, Mat South -13 and Bulawayo-3). Sixty one (61) cases were returning residents who were in quarantine centres and the three (3) were local.
The cumulative number of tests done to date is 38 656 (22 402 ROT and 16 254 PCR).
To date the total number of confirmed cases is 132; recovered 25, active cases 103 and 4 deaths, since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
How many of these returnees got the virus because of the unhygienic conditions they are living in these quarantine centres! Most of these returnees have to share toilet and washing facilities and many of them do not even have something as basic as clean running water! These is no doubt that most of the returnees will get out of the quarantine centres in a coffin!
MDC Secretary-General Charlton Hwende says the party is committed to using democratic means to remove ZANU PF from power and they will not engage in violent activities.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking to Open Parly Zimbabwe Hwende said, "We are a democratic party and we believe in non-violence. We will continue to put pressure on ZANU PF using every non-violent and democratic strategy at our disposal. What is required to defeat ZANU PF is unity of purpose among all the suffering citizens."
Hwende also said citizens must support the fight against ZANU PF because the democratic path was not only an MDC cause.
"This is not an MDC Alliance struggle. Its every struggle for every suffering citizen. So stop watching from the terraces and do your part to put pressure on the regime. Together we can defeat this dictatorship. The national democratic struggle does not need guns or violence."
This is just the usual nonsense, when these corrupt and incompetent politicians want our vote and support, they profess to their undying commitment to the common cause of democratic change. But once in a position of power, they forget about the changes and focus on their selfish interests.
MDC had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and yet failed to implement even one reform. By participating in flawed and illegal elections for the sake of the few bait gravy-train seats Zanu PF gives away MDC is giving the illegitimate Zanu PF regime some modicum of credibility!
The then USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe, 2004 to 2007, Chris Dell said Tsvangirai “was a flawed and indecisive character who, if he got into power, could become the albatross round the people of Zimbabwe’s neck”. The ambassador was right, MDC is the country’s main opposition party and instead of being the one championing democratic change it is now the one undermining all hopes of meaningful change!
The ruling further stated that there was evidence that government intended to give the money to another party which was not the MDC Alliance and said there was justification for fears that the finances would end up in the hands of other people.
ReplyDelete"When the court considers the evidence placed before it, the conclusion that the applicant (MDC Alliance) has shown a well-grounded apprehension of irreparable harm is inescapable. There is evidence of publications to the effect that there is a likelihood of the applicant's entitlement being paid to a different entity other than applicant.
"An attempt to seek clarity failed to provide an assurance that the first respondent does not intend to so act. The applicant is thus within its right to fear that it may lose its entitlement to a third party and not be able to retrieve such a considerable sum of money."
The ruling added: "I reiterate that the applicant does not seek to have funds disbursed to it at this stage, such that there was no need to have even opposed the relief sought as the funds would still remain in the first respondent's coffers until the court finally decides the dispute.
"Given the aforegoing and conscious of the degree of proof required at this stage, I find that the applicant has satisfied the requirements for granting of an interim interdict. The court in exercising its discretion finds this to be a proper case for the granting of a provisional order," the judge said before granting the relief sought.
MDC Alliance deputy secretary-general Jameson Timba said: "The judgment acknowledged that president Chamisa was elected as president of the MDC Alliance in Gweru last year. It also acknowledged that he contested elections as a candidate of MDC Alliance.
"The Ministry of Justice has previously disbursed funds to MDC Alliance. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and Parliament records show there is a party called MDC Alliance. It boggles my mind that any rational person would wake up today and say that party does not exist both at law and in reality. It can only be malicious to do so."
Contacted for comment yesterday, MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said he was in a meeting.
The long-standing battles in the MDC formations have taken several twists and turns and a number of them are awaiting determination in the courts. The High Court is tomorrow expected to determine a challenge brought by Chalton Hwende and Prosper Mutseyami challenging their recall by Khupe's MDCT following the Supreme Court judgment declaring Chamisa an illegitimate leader.
Khupe was arguing that the MDC Alliance was not a party, but an umbrella body for a group of political parties.
Today, the High Court is continuing with a matter in which MDC Alliance is seeking to interdict Mwonzora from recalling its MPs after the recall of four of its legislators - Hwende, Mutseyami, Thabitha Khumalo and Lillian Timveous early this month.
The Supreme Court is also expected to hand down a ruling in a case where the MDC Alliance is seeking to block Mwonzora from recalling party MPs.
What a waste of time and money. MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent, there is a mountain of evidence to prove this; still one had hoped that they will provide so check against Zanu PF’s blundering incompetence, especially during this difficult time of covid-19. Sadly, that was not to be! MDC leaders have completely taken their eyes off the national trials and tribulations to focus on this trivial matter of whether or not Chamisa followed the party’s constitution when he seized power after Tsvangirai’s death.
Zanu PF’s blundering incompetence in the handling of the corona virus pandemic means the country is not even doing the simple things like making sure there is clean running water for our people. Covid-19 is spreading far and wide and many more people will suffer and die unnecessarily! What a nightmare!
There are reports that of some clinics and hospitals up and down the land are now refusing to attend to the sick unless the patient was tested for covid-19 and the result was negative. Most of the country's health care workers do not have even the most basic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like face mask and gloves. Many health care workers in countries like Italy, UK and many others have died because they were not properly kitted; in Zimbabwe, where the workers have no PPE at all, the death toll will be even higher.
ReplyDeleteThe health workers' demanding for covid-19 test results proves that they are seeing a lot of sick people with covid-19 like symptoms; proof the virus is spreading in the country. No doubt the teachers, like many other Zimbabweans out there are aware that the virus is spreading contrary to the official position that Zimbabwe has "effectively contained" corona virus.
What is disappointing here is the fact that these health care workers, teachers, etc. have known all along that Zanu PF was falsifying the corona virus data, for whatever reasons, and they have all said nothing! It is only now, because their own lives are now at great risk that the teachers are sounding their objection to the school reopening.
Since the teachers have never challenged the government's covid-19 reports their objection to schools reopening is pretty feeble! Unless there is a significant surge in the number of covid-19 cases and deaths, schools will reopen but only to re-close a few weeks later.
Of course, the decision to reopen the schools will the a foolish and reckless one given it was based on false information and the consequences are many more people will be infected, suffer and die of covid-19. Our curse is not only that we have a foolish and reckless government but to crown it all, we have a naive and gullible electorate.
The exchange rate at the parallel market was US$1:$60 via electronic transfers and US$1:$45 for cash transactions. The official rate is 1:25. The price hikes are against last month’s Government and industry moratorium that prices should revert to March 25 levels.
ReplyDeleteInformation, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, in a post-Cabinet briefing yesterday said Government will soon announce measures to arrest speculative behaviour in the market.
This is just voodoo economic, the regime expects economic prosperity and yet it has done nothing to revive the economy, it expects the Z$ to be stable and yet it is the one flooding the nation with paper money fuelling inflation. Whatever measures the regime will come up with the end result will be to drag the nation deeper and deeper into the economic abyss.
The truth is Zanu PF has no clue what it is doing. The nation has been stuck for 40 years and counting with this corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless regime only because it rigged elections. Having an equally corrupt and incompetent opposition party like MDC has only made a bad situation worse.
USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Chris Dell, said Tsvangirai “was a flawed and indecisive character and, if he should get into power will be the albatross round the nation’s neck”. The ambassador was right, instead of the MDC delivering democratic changes designed to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, the party is now helping the dictatorship stay in power!
To end the Zanu PF dictatorship, we must first remove the MDC albatross weighing us down!
@ John Robertson
ReplyDeleteZimbabwe should be challenging itself to become dependent on its own resources. The country has faced and met this challenge before, and it must again do everything possible to recover its self-sufficiency. As food production is so critically important, it should accept that the right place to start would be to rebuild the foundations for agriculture.
As a result, decisions on who can get and who can keep farmland today are made on assessments of party loyalty, not performance. Every farmer, who is actually engaged in genuine efforts to farm, knows the severe limitations under which he or she is working, but they are also keenly aware that criticism of the system in place would be interpreted as disloyalty to the party. As this would lead to their eviction from their allotments, no dissenting voices are heard. Government chooses to interpret this as support for the policy.
As its whole philosophy had been centred on the assertion that government took power to wield power, not to share power with markets, the very concept of a market for farmland was unacceptable. This attitude justified, in ZanuPF minds, the dispossession and eviction of farmers considered unlikely to display loyalty to the ruling party.
Now, there can be no doubt that the country is in desperate need of a change. So, a complete rethink is required. Under imaginative leadership, government would have no difficulty accepting the need to reject policies that have failed. Ever since these policies were introduced, the country has depended on food imports. No argument to retain the same policies can be taken seriously.
Zimbabwe had disqualified itself from any chance of attracting assistance even before the Covid-19 crisis, so the country had been severely weakened long before this event. Now, the possibilities of a world-wide recession are threatening a much deeper level of poverty for most Zimbabweans. These are making our own efforts to take preventative measures more important than ever in the country’s history.
These policy choices should focus on the removal of every barrier placed in the way of the investors needed to rebuild Zimbabwe’s economy. Government created these barriers to give it the means and the leverage it felt it needed to direct and control all business activity. With the challenges of the post-Covid-19 world in mind, government would do well to declare and act upon its previously stated determination to turn Zimbabwe into the investor-friendly country that it could become.”
@ John Robertson
ReplyDeletepart 2 of 2
Thank you very much John for yet another very informative article.
I totally agree with you that the quickest, easiest and surest path, especially now during these very difficult covid-19 times and the post-covid-19 years to follow, to reviving Zimbabwe’s economic fortune is by reviving its agricultural sector.
“Zimbabwe should be challenging itself to become dependent on its own resources. The country has faced and met this challenge before, and it must again do everything possible to recover its self-sufficiency. As food production is so critically important, it should accept that the right place to start would be to rebuild the foundations for agriculture,” as you said.
Sadly, as long as Zanu PF remains in power there will be no meaningful agricultural recovery because Zanu PF leaders and the cronies will never ever give up the land.
Yes, there were many reasons why Robert Mugabe and his cronies seized the white own farms the single most important reason why was because by the late 1990s Mugabe was running out of wealth to dish out to his ever demanding but wasteful party loyalists. The only other asset of value still available was land and so he seized it to give to his loyalists.
Loyalty to Mugabe and now Mnangagwa is a requisite to hanging on to the farm, everyone knows that land is a valuable asset and so even those who gave up the dream of being successful farmers have, nonetheless, have not given up the farm.
Command Agriculture has made it even more attractive to hang on to the farm, the policy allows those with farms to get cheap loans for farming activities which are then written off, no questions asked.
Zimbabwe had the great misfortune of having a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regime these last 40 years and thus finds itself in a real economic and political mess at the start of this very difficult period of covid-19. The country is being naïve to allow itself to be governed by this corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF regime. The regime’s blundering incompetence is making the bad situation even worse.
The most important challenge for Zimbabwe is to remove Zanu PF from office a.s.a.p. because nothing of value will ever be accomplished as long as the regime remains in power. Nothing!
With most of the positive cases reported in quarantine centers, some people are worried that some returnees are escaping from there before the mandatory quarantine period and prior to knowing their statuses.
ReplyDeleteOn Wednesday, the Member of Parliament for Gweru Urban Constituency Brian Dube warned the city's residents to be cautious after 18 people escaped from a teachers' college the same day, taking a baby with them.
We should not be surprise that many people in quarantine are testing covid-19 positive given the unhygienic conditions in most of these centres. The conditions were flagged a long time ago but the regime paid no heed. It is nonsensical that the regime has failed to ensure there is clean running water at some of the centres, something as basic as that!
Ramokgwebana border officials on May 24 turned back a Zimbabwean truck driver after testing positive for COVID-19.
ReplyDeleteNorth East District Health Management Team coordinator, Ms Rodah Phindela said the truck driver arrived on May 21 and was tested.
She explained that when the results were released three days later, the Zimbabwean was the only one who tested positive among the 10 other truckers.
She said the other 10 drivers who were with him at the border were identified as his contacts.
She said the 10 contacts were escorted out of the country and advised to take all health precautions and self-quarantine in their respective countries.
The truck driver was tested in Zimbabwe and the results confirmed he was covid-19 positive but the individual will probably never be added the official Zimbabwe report. The regime has certainly not accounted for all the covid-19 positives cases.
One has to question what the booze ban accomplished other than being a distraction!
ReplyDeleteCabinet was advised that Wilkins and Parirenyatwa Hospitals are now ready to admit critical patients, while Mater Dei and all Provincial Hospitals are ready to admit mild cases.
ReplyDeleteHow many patients will these hospitals handle?
What are people in the rural back waters supposed to do with their sick?
In a statement, the Health Ministry said the new cases were discovered from among locals under quarantine.
ReplyDelete“Seventeen cases tested positive for Covid19 today. These are all returnees from Mozambique registering 9, South Africa 7 and United Kingdom 1.
“They are all in quarantine centers. This brings the cumulative number of confirmed Covid19 cases to 149,” said the ministry.
It has been obvious from the start that the unhygienic condition in Zimbabwe’s quarantine centres was making them corona virus hotspots. If one resident has corona virus it is near impossible to stop him/her spreading the virus to other if they all share the toilet and washing facilities 7/24 for 21 days. Some of these centres do not even have something as basic as clean running water so people can wash their hands regularly.
The regime is concentrating on testing returnees and ignoring what is happening in the rest of the community. Most of these returnees have come into close contact with the local officials from the immigration and customs staff, the local bus driver who drove them to the quarantine centre to the quarantine staff, whom everyone know do not fully kitted to work with corona virus cases. If the regime was operating a thorough test, track and trace system then it would be clear by now that some of the locals have the virus. To how many others have the infected locals passed the virus?
Let me say it for the umpteenth time, Zimbabwe has a hell-lot more corona virus cases than the Zanu PF regime is letting on. The decision to under report the cases is a foolish and downright criminal because people would be taking the right precautions if they knew someone has the virus.
Zanu PF is deliberately deceiving the nation for selfish political reasons of wanting to hide its blundering incompetence in the handling of the pandemic! Zanu PF wants the world to believe that the regime has managed to keep local covid-19 infections very low, all its problems have come from outside. The price of the lie is the hundreds of thousands of lost human lives. That is totally unacceptable!
If the Zanu PF regime is already buckling and incapacitated with only 160 confirmed covid-19 cases in the country what sorry state will the country be in when the number of cases soar a hundred thousand fold to 1 600 000 or 10% of the population! The issue of good governance, one that will not buckle under the first signs of trouble, is important much more so during these very difficult time.
ReplyDelete