God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

The chaos continues in South Africa:
Take the opening of schools through Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga – aimed to happen today – announcement last week, shifted several times and ended almost at one point in time in announcing, that students, who should be at school on Monday, 1st of June at 8 am would be advised by the Minister at 11 am the same day whether they have to go to school 3 hours earlier. Makes sense? No, but it reflects an incompetence, which could drive people crazy in our challenging times.
At the same time President Ramaphosa, who always repeated to adhere to the advice of the health professionals revealed, that the scientists, who advised government, told the minister to go from Level 4 lockdown to Level 1, as the lockdown measures have lost their meaning. The possible unconstitutional Covid-19 Central Command decided to ignore the advice and again lost no time in wasting time to write up new rules and regulations and giving ministers the opportunity to live out their authoritarian habits.
Looking at sciences and the experience of especially Germany, where the Pentecost weekend saw masses on the streets again and going on holidays, the infection figure did not rise. According to those in the medical field, there are some factors contributing to the surprisingly low numbers: wearing of a face mask and being able to be outside during the day. It seems more and more clear, that not the distance alone, but being in a confined space triggers more infections – the face mask and fresh air are the tools to avoid catching Covid-19. The aerosol factor in closed rooms become more and more important in transmission.
Also clear is that the virus will remain with us for a while and that most of us will go through an infection – healthy lifestyle, a safe working environment and again, fresh air and a face mask are the tools remaining powerful in slowing down or keeping down infections till a vaccine is found.

It is beyond understanding, that the government of South Africa, instead  of doing what it promised again and again to do – to adhere to medical advice and at the same time strengthen the economy and avoiding more poverty, hunger, despair and job loss simply ignore their own promises and keep on concentrating on making up rules for levels with no health benefits. Looking at the disaster of opening the schools in a meaningful way, realising how the transport system is not ready as Minister Mbalula had to admit mentioning unprepared PRASA; having the whole ESKOM and SAA dilemma not sorted out, the middle ground is nothing but hiding the incompetence of preparing the country for the new normal. Instead, fighting against booze and cigarettes, supporting a black market with benefits for people certainly “connected”, discerning for days which T-shirt can be bought in which level was the order of the days.

It is not a coincidence that the very same days, people worry about corruption looking at the billions made available for assisting those in need, amaBhungane and its #GuptaLeaks partners publish another lot about corruption and kickback history, reminding South Africa, where we are coming from and that the very same people, who let this happen, are still sitting in government and parliament. Talk is on to take the pension funds of millions of hard-working South Africans to bail the country out and make money available and there is the fear, that we end up like other African countries when all monetary wealth is gone and there is nothing left to loot.

Establishing the Fraud protection unit for the stimulus packet, opening up the country for business again and concentrating on the medical advised tools of face masks, distancing and a safe working environment; this is the only way forward to avoid more harm and more despair for South Africa. Adding a real effort to have enough testing material, hunting down infection hot spots and stopping to abuse the crisis for ideological driven agendas would bring this country back on track and create another new beginning. Covid-19 has shown us that we are all in for it – the virus does not discriminate, but has laid bare the woes of societies. It invites us to open a new chapter of understanding the world and each other and the connectivity between all living. Humility should be the answer, not ideology, common sense, not politics. We can come stronger out of this crisis if we as a society learn the lessons given to us, but for this to happen, we have to get our acts together in a transparent and honest way.  It is up to us to chose wisely – our leaders, our path and our destiny.

Filed under: Africa, Politics and Society, Society and living environment, South Africa, Uncategorized, amaBhungane, Corona, Covid-10 Command Council, Covid-19, Mbalula, PRASA, Ramphosa, sciences, south africa