"We hope this vacuous regime will not renew the measures which imposed mandatory PCR tests and 10-day quarantine for everyone arriving in Zimbabwe," Biti said.
Biti said Statutory Instrument 267 which followed Mnangagwa's televised address was a "draconian, ill-thought piece of legislation typifying everything wrong with the regime."
The omicron corona virus variant is real and although it is not as deadly as the other variants it is certainly more contagious. Zimbabwe’s economy is in ruins, its health service is all but collapsed and only 30% of the herd immunity have received the second vaccine jab. We will not cope if the omicron variant was to spread like a grass fire! We should at least do our best to try to stop it spreading like a grass fire.
The two options open to us are to accelerate the vaccination programme and ramp up the testing, tracing, tracking and isolation. Zimbabwe’s official covid-19 cases and deaths have remained very low compared to our neighbours but only because we have not been testing for the virus as per WHO recommendation and common-sense dictates.
The cheating was to give the false impression Zimbabwe had handled the pandemic well but this was foolish in that the failure to test, trace, track and isolate only allowed the virus to spread far and wide than it would have and thus result in even more cases and deaths.
The government should be criticised for failing to follow up on its promise to ramp up its testing, tracing, tracking and isolation and not encouraged to abandon it!
It is very possible that the government did not lift a finger to impose SI 267 for fear it will be accused of ruining Christmas!
What would real ruin Christmas is hundreds of thousands of very serious sick people in our hospitals, clinics and homes and the endless traffic into the cemeteries to bury the dead. Many of those with all the coronavirus symptoms will be listed down as having malaria or some such other disease because it is Zanu PF government policy to falsify the official covid-19 figures. The regime is desperate to hide evidence of its blundering incompetence in handling the corona virus pandemic and bragging for having the lowest covid-19 figures in the region is a bonus!
Zimbabwe like many other countries in Africa has clearly been spared the worst of corona virus pandemic this far, the omicron variant could change all that. This is not the time for us to relax our guard, the little of it, for the sake of a few brownie points as the one who saved Christmas.
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“Whereupon after reading documents filed of record and hearing of counsel it is ordered that Dube said to be seriously ill and unforto stand tri. The matter be and hereby removed from the roll,” the judge said.
Dube is accused of defrauding the medical aid company of US$23 million.
The allegations arose during his time at PSMAS between 2009 and 2014.
PSMAS approached the High Court claiming US$23 153 140 which Dube allegedly used enriched himself through payment of unlawful salaries, allowances and other benefits.
The medical aid society feels the money remains due and payable.
Allegations are that during the said period, Dube would award himself unapproved salaries, allowances, bonuses and increments which were outside his contract limits.
The irony of this story is breath taking, Dube is off the hook because he is travelling to India for medical attention – the whole trip will cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars. Money, he clearly swindled from the PSMAS members many of whom are so impoverished they cannot afford medicine costing a few dollar a month!
Why was this case not cleared for the last 7 sevens?
The omicron corona virus variant is spreading fast even in those nation that have a very significant number of their population vaccinated. Zimbabwe has only vaccinated about 30% of the target herd immunity; its economy is in total meltdown and thus has very little wriggle room for such things as PPE much less expensive equipment like ventilators; and our health care service is in a sorry state after decades of being starved of funding. The one thing the nation can do is test, trace, track and isolate. It is therefore shocking that the Zanu PF government announced it was stepping up on testing and isolation and yet has done nothing.
MDC have been busy fighting each other these last two years it will be fair to say Zanu PF had done as it damn well pleased ever since the corona virus outbreak. It is ironic that Tendai Biti has roused himself from his sloth-like slumber, became aware of the corona virus threat and felt he had better say something. Sadly, it was the wrong thing.
The sheer incompetence of Zanu PF has clearly made the bad corona virus situation even worse and it was certainly NOT the time to has the mediocre opposition go walk about!
@ Mbofana
“How else can we describe a ruling establishment that comes into power promising "castles in the air" - more specifically, the current crop that grabbed power through a military coup d'etat in November 2017 - touting themselves as a "new dispensation", regardless of the fact that these have been the same faces we have seen in leadership since Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980?”
What I found really amazing and annoying is that many people believed the November 2017 military coup was a positive thing and even went out on the street to demonstrate their support. They were encouraged by our opportunistic opposition! The coup was never going to bring about any meaningful change since it was a change of guard, the Zanu PF dictatorship was untouched by the coup.
The people have learned nothing and they are participating in the 2023 elections regardless of all the evidence Zanu is rigging these elections. They believe MDC has “winning in rigged elections strategies!” After 41 years of rigged elections, they still believe in that bull!
@ Koni
However people are now more responsive to political leaders who are carrying a vision of the masses than politicians who are into politics to enrich themselves and fatten their pockets like Mwonzora and Khupe. Surely you can't make omlets with bad eggs.
It is now crystal clear that all this fighting for political recognition and power is not to serve the ordinary people who are suffering on the ground but is driven by selfishness and personal agrandisement.
Interesting article except for one thing, it is nonsense to suggest that Chamisa and the other MDC A leaders ever had a vision. They did not! We must never forget the greatest single task that MDC leaders faced was to bring about democratic change, as the party name implies. They have failed to bring about even one reform in 22 years, 5 of which in the GNU! Not even one token reform!
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