A hard lockdown punishes the poor

Lockdowns are believed to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. However, there is no evidence that suggests that lockdowns actually reduce the spread of the virus. It is even worse when big businesses such as factories and taxis still transport workers to work. Truth be told lockdowns are economically costly, imposing them appears to have been a large policy error. At the beginning, when little was known, the government acted in ways they thought were prudent. But now evidence proves that lockdowns are an expensive treatment with serious side-effects and no benefit to society. It is even worse when the execution of lockdowns exempt other industries. Why are other industries or sectors of the economy exempted? A lockdown that selectively allows others to continue with their livelihoods while others are forced to sacrifice their livelihoods is unjust and unfair. This defeats the whole purpose of a lockdown, in which people are meant to sacrifice the things they do and love for the greater good of the country. Last week I was listening to the Minister of Health on 357 fm during lunch hour and he said they have reviewed the regulation to allow factories to continue working because they have orders from the United States. As he was justifying why they allowed factories to resume work, I wondered whether all sectors need to approach the Prime Minister and the Minister in order to continue with their livelihoods. Does it mean all other sectors which are on lockdown did not have orders or pressing deadlines? What about street vendors with their perishable goods? Why should others sacrifice their livelihoods if factory workers are allowed to return to work? I think our fight against Covid-19 and hard lockdown is failing because of the following problems in government strategy execution: Lack of commitment, no or little follow-through, insufficient or inadequate resources, isolated and fragmented actions, ambiguous or conflicting goals, no or unclear strategy, no clear priorities, ambiguous responsibilities, lack of performance information, silo behaviour, wrong or ineffective culture, resistance to change, insufficient management capabilities, unclear and insufficient communication and poor leadership. I am going to use an example of Basotho coming home for Christmas to drive my message. The story reflects many of the above-mentioned challenges to strategy execution. These factors truly became apparent during the most critical time, the festive season. We saw the Minister of Home Affairs Motlalentoa Letsosa work diligently to ensure that Basotho migrant workers based in South Africa would be afforded the opportunity to come home over the Christmas holidays. This was an act these Basotho not only deserved but they were also entitled to, as circumstances had denied them their right to come home, for at least eight months. However, there were fatal mistakes made when the Basotho migrant workers arrived in Lesotho. A large number of these Basotho came into the country untested and unscreened. The Ministry of Health was nowhere to be found. This was a clear proof of working in silos. We saw videos of hordes of people walking into the country at Maputsoe Bridge and Maseru Bridge, and judging by their number and demeanour, I am certain they were never screened nor tested. This is worrisome because South Africa had become a Covid-19 hotspot that even has its own variant of Covid-19. We ought to have taken extra caution at the borders. Furthermore, I attribute the recklessness we saw at the borders to a breakdown in communication, because what should have happened is that the Minister of Health and Minister of Home Affairs ought to have worked together at the border to ensure that Basotho that arrived at the border were tested and necessary steps were taken for those that tested positive. In recent tweets the Minister of Home Affairs suggested that it was the Ministry of Health’s responsibility to test people for Covid-19. However, I wonder whether there was communication between the two ministries and if both were aware of what was expected from one another. From the beginning Lesotho has shown a lack of leadership in the handling the Covid-19 crisis. The onset of the crisis coincided with the fall of the Thomas Thabane-led government and just before they were toppled, we saw them do nothing. They enforced a lockdown with no consideration or contingency for the masses while they squandered money set aside for the Covid-19 agenda on expensive lunches, as favours to their friends in the catering industry. Moreover, the newly formed government that toppled the old regime has also failed to steer the Covid-19 fight in the right direction. In the beginning there were signs that they were on the right track when they hired Thabo Khasipe to spearhead the initiative to counter Covid-19. However, in no time he was forced out by ABC party loyalists who were seeking to profit from this pandemic. The other example is that of defiance in the Prime Minister’s cabinet. Indeed, this defiance does not make the Prime Minister look good. I am still to hear the ministers who were tasked with breaking down the Prime Minister’s speech on radio do so. But they have failed to take orders from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also said this hard lockdown will be similar with last year’s hard lockdown. Another example of a government that does not have a clear strategy is the one I started this article with, exempting other non essential industries from the lockdown. The poor are locked down, while big businesses are operating as usual. Street vendors are denied a livelihood while factories, supermarkets and mining companies are open. What is strange is that these businesses which are operating as normal are mostly owned by foreigners. This lockdown was meant for the informal sector, which is mostly owned by Basotho. It will interest you to know that these big businesses employ big numbers and any business that has more than 50 people becomes a “super spreader”. Yet those who govern do not see it that way, the super spreaders to them are businesses that employ one (1) to five (5) people. Lastly bathing and dressing up a deceased loved one, cooking together, gathering before the burial are integral parts of grieving in my culture in this country. Yet, as deaths mount due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister has urged Basotho to find new funeral practices to stop the spread of Covid-19. Some callers on several radios were so offended by the Prime Minister’s remarks. I was shocked when I got a video of the funeral of Taelo Ntsokotsane as he was buried by multitudes of his All Basotho Convention (ABC) comrades. Our people are resisting change. In conclusion it appears that for the government, the purpose of the lockdown seemed to lock the country down and hope the problem would go away. But a lockdown itself doesn’t fundamentally change the virus or its trajectory. The last lockdown exposed the government and when it ended, we still did not have a clear Covid-19 strategy. So, Mr Prime Minister Majoro if you were hoping the problem will go away, I have bad news for you, after two weeks Covid-19 will still be with us. What are you going to do after two weeks? Ramahooana matlosa