Ever since the day, 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared corona virus a pandemic many governments across the world prepared themselves to do what they could to contain the virus, save human lives and save the economy. Those nations with competent leaders have done very well in all the three areas and those with mediocre leaders have done badly in one, two or even all three areas.
Still, most governments, competent or mediocre, had their eyes on containing the virus, saving human lives and saving the economy. It is now abundantly clear that this Zanu PF government had its eyes fixed on making sure Zimbabwe’s official corona virus figure are one of the lowest.
Of course, Zanu PF knew Zimbabwe was going to do badly in containing the virus, saving human lives and saving the economic given the country’s economy was already in total meltdown so there was little to save but worst of all the country will have no economic resources to buy the test kits, PPE, etc. needed to contain the virus and shore up the all but collapsed health care service. And so the country was doomed to have high confirmed covid-19 cases and deaths. The regime was concerned about its reputation, whatever happened it cannot be seen as having performed badly, and hence the need to ensure that the official corona virus figures are kept as low as possible.
The regime was quick off the mark in passing a law making it a criminal office to publish corona virus figures other than the official figures. And so Zimbabwe’s official confirmed covid-19 cases and deaths have remained very low, as much as 40 times lower than one would expect compared to that of South Africa, for example.
Zimbabwe has managed to keep the corona virus figures very low by making sure it did not keep track of the virus by testing, tracing and tracking. If you do not test for covid-19 then all those with the virus or die from it cannot be included on the official list as corona virus victims. “Simples!” as VP Chiwenga would say.
Last week 70 health workers at Parerinyatwa Hospital tested positive of covid-19. Early this week, 20 nurses at Maphisa District Hospital in Matabeleland South test positive of the virus. This was the first time most of these health care workers have been tested. They are lucky, many other health care workers are still waiting to be tested.
Needless to say the patients in these hospital and clinics, even those with covid-19 like symptoms, are not being tested.
For months Zimbabwe has carried less than 1 000 test per day and no wonder not even the frontline health workers have not been tested!
The other way Zanu PF has kept the corona virus figures done is by falsifying the figures. Parerinyatwa Hospital reported that between 9 June to 25 July 2020 the hospital had 21 covid-19 deaths. And yet the government official record said the whole of Harare Province had 10 covid-19 death since the outbreak!
Zanu PF has already been boasting about Zimbabwe’s low corona virus statistics as proof of how well the regime has contained the virus. This has come at a huge price, by failing to test and informing the people of their covid-19 status this has only helped to spread the virus faster, farther and widely. If you don’t know you have the virus, for example, you don’t take the common sense precaution of self-isolating and so you, unknowingly, spread the virus to one and all!
Zimbabwe’s official confirmed covid-19 cases and deaths have started to soar and the real figures are even higher. The chickens are coming home to roost in their thousands and millions, like the red-billed quelea! The Zanu PF ruling elite are not being spared by the corona virus
Yesterday it was reported that 26 workers at the party’s Shake-shake HQ had tested positive of the corona virus. Today we hear the Minister of Information, Monica Mutsvangwa, is in self-isolation because he husband tested positive of the virus. Last Friday the late Minister of Agriculture, Perrance Shiri, was laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre, a victim of the corona virus.
The one thing corona virus has done is bring into sharp focus our folly of doing nothing to end four decades of bad governance for there is no denying that the huge price in human suffering and lost lives to covid-19 was exacerbated by decades of Zanu PF misrule and blundering incompetence. One only hopes that this heartbreaking tragedy will spur this nation out of its sloth-like slumber into action and finally end the curse of bad governance.
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The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation has received enquiries from several local media and some members of the public requesting the reaction of the Government of the Republic of Namibia on the security situation in the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Within SADC we have mechanisms in place established to deal with issues affecting members states in between Summits, such as regional integration, economic development, and peace and security among others.
Namibia respects the established SADC institutions, including the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, which is mandated with the authority to take decisions and make recommendations to the SADC Summit on matters pertaining to peace and security in the region. Namibia will respect and abide by those SADC protocols.
Well SADC leaders are not known for being decisive and hence the reason the Zimbabwe crisis has dragged on for decades now!
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor is in contact with her Zimbabwean counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Mr. Sibusiso Moyo.
As recent as on Tuesday, the two Ministers had a telephonic conversation, wherein Minister Pandor expressed South Africa’s readiness to assist if requested. Minister Pandor, reiterated South Africa’s commitment to peace and stability in the region and the African Continent.
She stated that it remains South Africa’s resolve to continue the pursuit for consultative solutions to address the existing socio-economic challenges and to contribute to the wellbeing of all Zimbabweans, the people of the SADC Region and Africans at large.
Zimbabwe’s seemingly never ending political and economic crisis stem from the country’s repeated failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. SADC leaders tried to get this sorted during the 2008 to 2013 GNU but were badly let down when Morgan Tsvangirai and his corrupt and incompetent MDC opportunists failed to implement even one democratic reform.
The biggest mistake the region leaders have made was to throw in the towel and let Zanu PF do as it pleased. Endorsing the July 2018 elections as have “gone well”, as President Cyril Ramaphosa put it was a foolish move. Now SADC cannot tell Mnangagwa he is illegitimate and yet pretending that Zanu PF is legitimate will not help end the Zimbabwe crisis!
SADC should try to get the UN or the EU to lead in the search for a solution in Zimbabwe.
@ S Chan
The Chinese stepped in to help Mnangagwa to rig the 2018 elections once that was done they turned to what they do best - loot. No one expected the Chinese to bankroll this Zanu PF regime, not even Mnangagwa was that naive to expect that to happen.
Zimbabwe carried out 1503 RDT and 768 PCR tests on 6 August 2020. This is simply NOT good enough! On 1st August the government reported 490 new covid-19 cases proof the virus has spread far and wide. If you are doing 2 000 tests a day then you can only do 5 tracing test on each of the 490 new cases without testing any new with covid-19 like symptoms, frontline workers, those in quarantine, etc., etc. There is absolutely no hope at this rate of ever catching up with the virus!
Zimbabwe's health care services is ill equipped to deal with even a few hundred hospital cases per day much the expected hundreds of thousands who will be knocking at the door. Zimbabwe should be putting all its effort in testing, tracing and tracking and making sure all those with the virus are put into isolation and stop infected people, unknowingly, spreading the virus.
SA has over 500 000 confirmed covid-19 cases and Zimbabwe should have a 1/4, or 125 000, that of SA given our population is 1/4 that of SA. Officially Zimbabwe has 4 395 cases or 30 times lower that the real figure. So for every one confirmed cases in isolation there are 30 others spreading the virus unaware they have the virus.
Zimbabwe had the resources to deploy well-equipped soldiers, Police and CIO to every town and city in the country to enforce the week long curfew last week but has no money to deploy covid-19 test teams to blitz test so the country has a correct and full picture of the corona virus problem.
By failing to test Zanu PF can boast the low figures is proof the regime has contained the virus but this is foolish as everyone this is a lie, the true figure is a lot higher and more significantly the many more will suffer and die to gratify the regime's vanity.
When it comes to rigging Zanu PF has both the experience and, in this case, the ruthlessness to rig the corona virus figures by burying the evidence, literally. Common sense tells you that if you do not test and tell those infected they have the virus they will not go into isolation and thus will spread the virus; that goes without saying. Clearly Mnangagwa and his cronies decided in their callous disregard for the suffering and deaths of others that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans was a small price to pay for their reputation as good and competent leaders.
Zanu PF has rigged elections, committed mass murders during Gukurahundi and committed many, many other serious human rights violations in the past and got away with it. It seems the regime is once again getting away with thunder reporting of covid-19 cases for selfish egotistic reasons. The regime has had direct and indirect help from all manner of Zimbabweans in carrying out its murderous plans and hiding the evidence; this time the regime has the country's health care professional to thank.
Of course, the country's health care managers have been aware of the regime's failure to test aggressively and the the disastrous consequences of that decision; yet to the man and woman they are all said nothing and did nothing!
Zimbabwe is stuck in this hell-on-earth because we, Zimbabweans, have allowed Zanu PF thugs to ride roughshod over our rights, hopes and dreams. We are helpless to end the madness but only because we choose to be helpless. We have failed to think through that it is our responsibility and duty as citizen to secure our freedoms and rights and when they are denied to demand their restoration.
A nation that cannot think for itself is doomed to blunder from pillar to post forever. We have blundered from pillar to post these last 40 years and have learned nothing. The corona virus outbreak has caught us with our pants down and will plunge us into new depths of despair, suffering and death! Until we finally appreciate the importance of good governance, there is no getting out of this hell-hole!
OVER 40 staffers at the opportunistic infection (OI) clinic at Mpilo Central Hospital have reportedly tested positive to COVID-19.
"COVID-19 cases among staff are out of control," said one of the staffers who requested anonymity.
"More than 75% of staff members at Mpilo tested positive for COVID-19. There is no support at all from the government or the hospital for all staff members.
"Staff members who test positive are required to return to work after 10 days of self-isolation without another test being done to check if they are negative."
"Workers are being encouraged to test, results are taking forever to come out, and mine came after nine days. During that whole time, I was told to go to work as long as I don't show symptoms."
Mpilo OI clinic deals with HIV and Aids-related patients.
"More than 40 people tested positive, that is about 80% of the staff complement there. In the OI pharmacy, everyone tested positive," the source said.
It was agreed that everything possible must be done to protect the corona virus frontline workers like health care workers. And yet in Zimbabwe it is the ruling elite like VP Chiwenga who are going around wearing the full space-suit PPE whilst the nurses and doctors are lucky to have the face mask and gloves.
Health care workers should have been tested of the virus regularly since they are the ones working with the infected people on a regular basis. The reason why so many health worker are testing positive now is because they were not being tested regularly. Some of these health workers are being tested now, for the first time, and there hundreds of thousands of other health care workers who are yet to be tested.
It is interesting to note that none of the patients at the OI Clinic have been tested for the virus. Of course, it is almost certain that some of the patients will have the virus.
Zimbabwe should mobilise resources to carry out a covid-19 test blitz to clear the backlog of test, trace and track. If the regime has the resource to impose a nation wide week long curfew to stop Jacob Ngarivhume and Job Sikhala holding street protests surely it must have the resource for the blitz test teams!
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